Unrepentant troll branded ‘pure evil’

Stewart McInroy ‘enjoys’ targeting family of missing Fife man

A cyber troll who has plagued missing Alan Bryant’s family has been branded “pure evil” after admitting he enjoys his online crimes.

Stewart McInroy has been jailed for targeting the missing Glenrothes man’s distraught father and sister with abusive messages.

He had previously apologised for his actions but contacted The Courier this week to say: “Am I sorry for my crimes? No.”

The unrepentant 27-year-old, who faces further charges in England, said: “The real reason I trolled Allan Bryant was because I made any effort to try (to) claim the reward money. Unfortunately it failed.

“But after the trolling I started to like it. It made me feel in control and have power. Every time I troll it makes me feel good.”

Allan Bryant Sr, whose son has been missing since 2013, said: “He should be locked up in a mental institution. He is a danger to himself. It’s pure evil.”

A serial cyber troller, who has been jailed several times for online abuse, has told The Courier he is not sorry for his crimes – despite claiming previously that he was remorseful.

Stewart McInroy, 27, from Fife, said he enjoyed trolling because it makes him “feel good” and because he “likes to slate people and take the mick out of them”.

However, his controversial views have been described as “pure evil” by the family of missing Glenrothes man Allan Bryant who have been the target of several vile messages from him in recent years.

Mr McInroy got in touch with The Courier this week after reading a feature we carried on July 20 which explored the psychological reasons for trolling.

He was recently given an eight-month prison sentence at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after he admitted sending vile messages to Mr Bryant’s father Allan Sr and sister Amy in March via the Facebook messenger app.

The former Dunfermline man, who was previously jailed for claiming he had tortured and killed Allan Jr, who has been missing since November 2013, was released from custody without special bail conditions on July 6 before travelling down south.

McInroy has since come to the attention of police in Hertfordshire where he was charged with allegedly sending a malicious communication (via Facebook), assaulting a police officer and assaulting a detention officer and causing damage to a police radio. That case is due to call again at St Albans Crown Court on August 24.

Contacting The Courier by email, Mr McInroy, who previously claimed he was deserved a harsher sentence for his “stupid” act, said: “The real reason I trolled Allan Bryant was because I made any effort to try (to) claim the reward money. Unfortunately it failed.

“But after the trolling I started to like it. It made me feel in control and have power. Every time I troll it makes me feel good. It’s harmless but if people don’t like it then they should hit the block button but they DON’T – they just sit there and cry and moan about it.

“I enjoy my trolling. I like to slate people and take the mick out of them but I expect them to troll back (rather) than sit and waste there (sic) time on police. “Am I sorry for my crimes? NO. “Will I change? Yes – in future when I decide to get bored of it.”

Allan Bryant Sr, who has refused to give up the fight to find out what happened to his son, said: “He is not going to change. He should be locked up in a mental institution. He is a danger to himself. It’s pure evil.”

How should society deal with the likes of serial cyber troll Stewart McInroy? To most normal people, the thought of up to a year behind bars would be a terrifying prospect – more than enough to make them think twice before committing any rash acts.

But for McInroy, who has already been jailed several times over online abuse meted out to victims including the family of missing Glenrothes man Allan Bryant, justice holds no fears.

Pointing out that the maximum sentence for trolling is two years, he suggests he would “only do half the term” before being released.

It is a quite staggering attitude.

Indeed, McInroy appears to see the punishment as worth it, citing the “control and power” he feels when dishing out vile abuse online.

The disturbing case poses several difficult questions. Yet again, one of them surrounds the perennial issue of automatic early release.

When criminals feel confident enough to commit a crime, apparently safe in the knowledge whatever sentence they ultimately receive will be heavily discounted, then one must surely question the effectiveness of the system.

Some abusers may be unrepentant, but that only makes the case for harsher penalties all the more pertinent.

Victims of crime deserve better.

Stewart McInroy got in touch with The Courier after reading our feature on cyber trolling, saying that it made him “feel in control and have power”.