Former UK student who pleaded guilty to Snapchat threats gets six months in prison

A former University of Kentucky student who pleaded guilty this summer to a charge of making Snapchat threats against the campus was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to a year of incarceration.

Haily Loraine Duvall, 20, will serve a split sentence after federal District Judge Danny Reeves weighed the severity of her actions and her acceptance of responsibility. She will serve six months in federal prison and six months of home detention.

Reeves ordered Duvall to report to prison on Dec. 2. She will also have to pay $1,800 in fines and serve three years of supervised release starting with her six months of home detention.

Duvall’s attorney, Jay Oakley, had asked for probation rather than prison time. Oakley said that Duvall’s difficult childhood and a recently diagnosed mental illness caused her to make the Snapchat threats against UK.

Oakley said he and Duvall were deflated by the sentence, but that they respect the judge’s decision.

Oakley had argued during the sentencing hearing that Duvall was at very low risk of re-offending now that she’s been diagnosed with a mental illness and begun treatment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Boone agreed that the threat of further offenses may have been mitigated. But he argued that the severity of the offense demanded at least some prison time as punishment and as a deterrent of future threats from Duvall or others.

Reeves said he acknowledged both factors when deciding his sentence.

Although the motion outlining Duvall’s diagnosed mental illness was filed under seal and could not be discussed in detail in open court, Oakley said that the disorder explained her actions were caused by a need for control and attention.

Duvall will get further mental evaluation and treatment during her incarceration, Reeves ordered.

After the sentencing, Oakley said he believed Duvall would overcome the sentence and make a prosperous future for herself.

When Duvall pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transmission of false statements involving explosives in June, 14 other counts against her were dismissed. She had initially been indicted in December on 11 counts of threatening interstate communications and four counts of maliciously conveying false information concerning a threat, according to court records.

Duvall was the one who reported the threats against UK to university police on Nov. 7, 2018. She told investigators she’d heard students talking about threats made against the White Hall Classroom Building. During a later interview, she admitted to creating the messages, according to court records.

The threats led to a temporarily increased police presence around the classroom building. Before she admitted to being the one who made the threats, Duvall spoke to multiple media outlets in Lexington.

Oakley is defending another Lexington woman who is facing similar charges. Crystal Brotherton, 31, is awaiting trial on accusations that she called in bomb threats against businesses at the intersection of East New Circle and Bryan Station roads.

This story was originally published October 8, 2019 at 12:01 PM.