Posted: 12:18 PM EDT October 11, 2020 | Updated: 12:56 p.m. EDT October 11, 2020
Erin Molan once feared that a troll who wished her and her baby were dead broke into her home in the middle of the night to attack her
The Channel Nine sports presenter, best known for her role in the NRL, has long been a victim of online trolling, but said it was comments about her unborn daughter, Eliza, who pushed her to campaign against bullying
She urges police to take a stronger stand against trolls and said prosecuting ‘just five of them’ would be enough to end the majority of online abuse
Before Eliza was born in 2018, Molan revealed that she often ignored misogynistic and abusive comments about her online
During an interview with 60 Minutes, the 38-year-old said she was forced to stop reading NRL websites due to the constant stream of intimidation
‘Everyone was either that I was a woman, that I was ugly, that I looked like a slut, that I had never played the game, that I belonged to the kitchen’, says- she
‘About different footballers I had alliances with, about the Channel 9 bosses I had to sleep with It’s just vile’
But one troll in particular « went too far » sending him a message that read, « Wish you fucking stillborn and you will die in the process, hip, hip, hooray »
/ p>
Molan has revealed her older sister suffered a stillbirth in the years leading up to her own pregnancy, causing her to wait ‘quite anxiously’ for the birth of her firstborn
‘She carried a beautiful baby girl to term and to watch her bury this little child It really impacted me’
After the vile comments, Molan said she was home in bed one evening when she heard something that ‘sounded like a window breaking’ around 2 a.m.
She immediately thought the troll had found her address and broke into her home to execute the threats he made online
Before Eliza was born in 2018, Molan revealed that she often ignored misogynistic and abusive comments made about her online
‘I thought he was just going to try to do what he said he was going to do to my baby So I went to the police’
Molan had nothing but praise for the police involved, but said he needed to be given more powers to prosecute
Molan said harsher sentences must be introduced to deter other trolls
Right now they need to gather a portfolio of comments, and the threat to her baby alone wasn’t enough
The author, who turned out to be a young father of girls, was eventually tracked down and arrested, becoming a rare example of an online troll who was successfully convicted
Molan said tougher sentences should be introduced to deter other trolls
Former Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold appeared in the segment to discuss his own experience with the trolls, which prompted him to quit his role with the club earlier this year
He said the vile rumors made about him online had indeed ruined his reputation and damaged his well-being, especially those aimed at his young daughter
The Channel Nine sports presenter, best known for her role in the NRL, has long been a victim of online trolling, but said it was comments about her unborn daughter, Eliza, who pushed her to campaign against bullying
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Erin Molan
World News – UA – Erin Molan reveals extent of horror behind her
