Dereham man sentenced for revenge porn
He'd posted images of an ex on social media
A man has been sentenced after he posted revenge porn pictures of his ex-girlfriend as a way of trying to get her to talk to him.
Samuel Stapleton, of Dereham, Norfolk, sent a message saying ‘Shall I delete this?’ to his ex-partner on 19 January, 2019, along with photos of a sexual nature that he had taken.
When she didn’t respond he set up a public Instagram page and posted one of the photos as its profile image.
He sent her another message saying ‘It goes on Facebook next, your call’.
The following day he posted the photo on Facebook, and later changed the image to another private photo.
Over the following weeks Stapleton set up multiple online accounts in an attempt to try and get back in contact.
During this time the 24-year-old was handed a non-molestation order not to contact the victim, which was ignored, and refused to return her phone which he had been borrowing.
Stapleton was found guilty in July of theft, breach of a non-molestation order and disclosing private sexual photos with intent to cause distress.
He was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.
DS Mike Minett, who investigated, said: “The level of harm caused by sharing private sexual photographs should not be underestimated, especially if they are shared by someone you know or trust.
“Revenge porn is incredibly serious and invasive, we will always look to put offenders before the courts”.
Anyone who believes private sexual photographs of themselves have been shared without their consent is urged to report this online at www.cambs.police.uk/report or call 101.