A fifty-one year old man, from Central London, posted personal and private images of his former partner on Facebook, following the breakdown of their relationship.

The man was charged with offences under the Communications Act 2003 and the Criminal Justice ACT 2015. He admitted to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message by a public communication network. He also admitted to disclosing private sexual photographs or films with intent to cause distress.

He was also charged with intimidating a witness or juror after he recorded a voicemail message for his ex-partner on her mobile phone which may have interfered with the criminal investigation. He has denied this offence.

The man has been remanded in custody to await a further hearing on 24 April 2020. The hearing is scheduled to be held by video-link. The trial has been listed for 21 May 2020.

Revenge Porn has been criminalised in England, Wales and Scotland since 2015. S.33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 makes it an offence to “disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress” and defines Revenge Porn as “the sharing of private, sexual materials, either photos or videos, of another person without their consent and with the purpose of causing embarrassment or distress”.

What to Do if You Have Been the Victim of Voyeurism or Revenge Porn

If you are the victim of voyeurism or revenge porn, you could consider taking the following steps:

Try to keep a record of any images or recordings that have been made of you and distributed without your consent, including where and when the images and videos were published and/or the date you found the images and videos.

Contact the Revenge Porn Hotline to have images and recordings removed from the relevant websites.

You could also use your “Right to Be Forgotten” to request that search engines prevent the relevant material from being searchable.

You may be able to make a civil claim in respect of the revenge porn or voyeurism and legal advice should be taken.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of online sexual abuse, including child grooming, revenge porn or covert recording, you can discuss a potential claim with one of our experienced solicitors. We appreciate that it can be very difficult to talk about what happened. We address all enquiries with sensitivity and in the strictest confidence. Call our specialist abuse line on 0330 134 6430 or email us today.