A blogger identified as “Rooster” was found guilty of telecommunications harassment after texting a sexually explicit image of the Shrek cartoon character to Ohio State Senator Jerry Cirino, a Republican.
Eight jurors in Lake County, Ohio, convicted Donald “D.J.” Byrnes in just 30 minutes for sending the offensive message—part of a series targeting Sen. Cirino following his withdrawal from the race for Ohio Senate president. The image depicted Shrek holding his genitals, accompanied by messages taunting the lawmaker.
Cirino called the conduct a violation of harassment statutes, stating: “This wasn’t a free speech issue; this was a harassment statute that I believed he was in violation of.” Prosecutors requested a no-contact order for Byrnes but the judge denied it. Byrnes’ defense argued his actions were protected under free speech rights and alleged political retaliation by Cirino.
Cirino, who donated $2,500 to the judge who signed Byrnes’ arrest warrant, maintained he would “never” engage in such behavior: “I respect my position in the Senate way too much to ever let that happen.” He denied contacting a witness during the trial, though WEWS-TV reported an annoyed message.
Byrnes expressed surprise at the verdict and plans to appeal. The case highlights tensions over digital communication boundaries after the blogger’s sentence included $200 in costs rather than jail time or fines.
