A Dunedin “influencer” who livestreamed accusations that her midwife was killing babies left the victim in disbelief, a court has heard.
Elana Jane Robins, 32, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon after admitting a charge under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
She was sentenced to 12 months’ supervision and Judge David Robinson said he would not ban the defendant from TikTok – the platform on which she made the allegations – but she was barred from making any further online comments about the victim.
All professionals had was their reputation, and it could “easily be destroyed by a keyboard warrior”, he said.
The court heard Robins’ baby died in a late stage of pregnancy and she blamed her midwife for the stillbirth, claims that were being investigated by regulatory bodies.
“This is a tragic situation, both for Ms Robins and her midwife,” counsel Rhona Daysh said.
On August 5, the defendant was livestreaming on TikTok under her username MISSYEViiLxx.
Robins has 68,000 followers on the platform and 250 people were watching live as she showed the former midwife’s website biography to the camera.
“Over 15 years of being a piece of s…,” the defendant commented.
“She’s out here un-aliving babies.”
TikTok users use the term “un-aliving” instead of “killing” to avoid their videos or accounts being disabled.
Robins finished reading the website information and responded to a comment from a viewer.
“Oi, and I’ve got her address too — that’s what’s dangerous, bro,” she replied.
“You wait til this autopsy comes back, girl . . . honestly [midwife] you’re going to have to hide real bad.”
The court heard the victim was “distressed, scared, and in disbelief”, when she heard about the video.
“Once something’s on the internet, it tends to be out there forever,” Judge Robinson told Robins.
“There was a real potential for a vast pool of people to be influenced by what you had said.”
The judge said Robins’ comments appeared to be “calculated” but he bore in mind the suffering she was enduring at the time.
The defendant had written an apology letter to the victim and Judge Robinson believed her remorse was genuine.