Application to withdraw guilty plea — posted a digital communication with intent to cause harm — Criminal Procedure Act 2011, s 115 — Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, s 22. This hearing concerned the determination of an application by the defendant to withdraw her plea of guilty to a charge laid under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. The defendant had accessed her partner's Facebook account, subsequently sending a series of messages and two images of an erect penis to her daughter while pretending to be the partner. The messages were composed in a way that led the victim to believe they were coming from the defendant's partner. The victim reported the matter to the police. The defendant went to the police station with her partner where she confessed to having sent the messages. The defendant originally entered a plea of guilty and was remanded for sentence. At sentencing, counsel for the defendant advised the court that the defendant intended to apply to vacate her plea of guilty. At issue for the court here was whether the interests of justice demanded that the court exercise its discretion and grant leave for the guilty plea to be withdrawn. Counsel for the defendant argued that the defendant had failed to appreciate the nature of the charge, she was under pressure from her husband, she thought the penalty would be a "slap on the wrist", and that she had an arguable defence. The court, however, found the defendant to be untruthful and had admitted responsibility for sending the indecent picture. While the defendant hoped for a non-custodial sentence when she entered her plea the court noted that in any event "disappointed hopes as to a sentencing outcome are not, of themselves, a ground for granting leave to withdraw a guilty plea". The application was dismissed. Judgment Date: 21 February 2018