SINCE THE INTRODUCTION of new laws in the UK, 11 people have been found guilty of revenge pornography.

Yesterday, 21-year-old Jason Asagba was due to be sentenced after being the first person convicted under the revenge porn legislation.

The Reading man pleaded guilty on 16 May of posting, texting and emailing photos without the woman’s consent with intent to cause her distress.

The victim did not consent to having the pictures taken and was asleep at the time.

Asagba sent the images to her family via text messages, as well as sending one to her by email. He also hacked into her Facebook account and shared an image on her timeline.

According to prosecutors, it was clear that he wanted to cause the woman distress and embarrassment.

“Sharing these pictures in a public forum was vindictive and criminal,” they said in a statement.

“Revenge pornography is a particularly distressing crime for the victim which is often, but not always, brought about by the vengeful actions of former partners. It is a violation of trust between two people and its purpose is to publicly humiliate,” Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders added.

The new laws came into force in April and Saunders believes they are already having an impact.

“It is too early for us to be able to say what impact this is having on the number of prosecutions, however, anecdotally we are seeing more of these cases being brought to us by the police and it is clear that the new legislation is having an impact,” she said.

Five cases have already been completed, while another five are ongoing. Two cases indicate a worrying trend of men changing their profile photos on social media platforms to the images of their ex-partners so that every one of their contacts sees it.

• Sam Colley, 35, was sentenced on 7 July at Barkingside Magistrates Court to 12 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to an offence of Revenge Pornography. He sent an intimate picture of a woman to members of her family via Facebook and threatened to post further pictures online.
• Clayton Kennedy, 21, was sentenced on 6 July at Cardiff Magistrates Court to a 12 month Community Order, fined £110 and ordered to pay court costs of £295 and given an indefinite restraining order. He posted intimate pictures of a woman onto Facebook. The victim was not aware the photo had even been taken causing further distress. He was charged with Revenge Pornography on 28 May and pleaded guilty on 22 June.
• Paul Marquis, 30, was sentenced on 30 June at Teesside Magistrates Court to an 18-week suspended sentence, received a tagged curfew and ordered to pay costs and compensation.  He was charged on 1 June after he sent an intimate image of a woman to her friend. He pleaded guilty and was convicted on 9 June.
• Jamie Law, 25, pleaded guilty and was convicted on 2 July at Feltham Magistrates Court and was sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates Court to 12 weeks imprisonment and a restraining order was granted for 3 years. He was charged with Revenge Pornography after sending pictures of a woman to her brother.
• Luke Brimson, 29, was charged on 16 July with Revenge Pornography after he distributed intimate pictures of a woman inside and outside of a supermarket. He appeared on 30 July at Woodspring Magistrates Court where he was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison (suspended for 18 months), given a two year Restraining Order and made to pay costs.
• Alex Till, 25, will be sentenced at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on 13 August after he pleaded guilty to posting an intimate image of a woman on Facebook.
• John Duffin, 35, pleaded guilty and was convicted of Revenge Pornography on 17 July at Bristol Magistrates Court after saving an intimate picture of a woman and setting it as his ‘Whatsapp’ profile picture, which would allow all of his contacts to view it. He is due to be sentenced at Bristol MC on 13 August.
• Simon Humphrey, 40, will be sentenced on 27 August after he pleaded guilty and was convicted of Revenge Pornography on 24 July at St. Albans Magistrates Court. Humphrey was convicted after he changed his Facebook profile picture to an intimate picture of a woman allowing it to be seen by all of his friends and associates.
• Paige Mitchell, 23, was charged on 3 July with Revenge Porn after she uploaded intimate pictures of a woman to her Facebook account.  She had her first hearing at Stevenage Magistrates Court on 4 August and pleaded guilty, she will be sentenced on 1 September.
• William Nelson, 52, pleaded guilty and was convicted of Revenge Pornography on 29 July at Croydon Magistrates Court. Nelson created a false account on Facebook where he shared about 30 pictures of a woman whose friends alerted her after they had seen the profile. He will be sentenced on 26 August.

Commenting on the cases, Attorney General Jeremy Wright said, “We live in a world where images are able to be shared instantaneously and the criminal justice system needs to keep pace with that reality.”

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