Mother of four, Samantha Watt, has been sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment for posting sexually explicit ‘revenge porn’ images of her ex-girlfriend on social media.
On delivering the sentence district judge Julia Newton stated: “The photos themselves are very graphic in nature and were widely available for distribution over which she (the Victim) had no control. She was clearly identified in the post and there was comment about her being involved in prostitution and paedophilia that you (the Defendant) actively encourage.”
These online posts caused the victim distress, humiliation and embarrassment as they were published on Facebook without her consent.
Posting ‘revenge porn’ images and videos online was made illegal in September when a specific amendment was made to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to cover photographs sent on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, as well as those sent by text.
Additionally, the civil courts have now held that someone in the position of Samantha’s girlfriend can bring a damages claim for the distress caused by posting their images on Facebook.
Victims are able to claim compensation for damage and injury to their feelings and also distress that has been caused from the images or videos being posted online.
If the victim is able to prove distress, it would also result in them being able to claim monies from the person who posted the photos. It may even be that the upset has been so significant that the victim sustains a psychiatric injury due to the pictures being posted. Again such injury may be compensated by the offender.
Here at Farleys, we have a department that specialises in revenge porn claims. If you have been the victim of ‘revenge porn’ please do not hesitate to contact our specialist team of abuse lawyers.