If you or someone you know is facing allegations related to Revenge Porn, you should seek legal advice urgently. Sutton Defence Lawyers can help. Our robust defence preparation, attention to detail and professional representation makes us the first choice for criminal defence.
Our dedicated defence lawyers can be reached 24/7 for the best advice for your case. Contact the team by calling 07798 753 720 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
What is Revenge Porn?
Revenge Porn is sharing intimate photos or videos of another person intending to cause them emotional harm, embarrassment or distress.
Criminal Justice and Courts Act
Cases of Revenge Porn used to be prosecuted via a range of laws that could be applied to the offence but were not specific to it. However, in 2015, the criminal law system addressed concerns that Revenge Porn was on the rise via the Criminal Justice and Courts Act. Revenge Porn is now legally defined in section 33 of this Act as ‘disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress’. The offence carries a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment.
Online or offline?
The Act is worded carefully to cover online and offline offences, with a keen awareness of the many forms Revenge Porn might take. Therefore, content that falls within the scope may be shared digitally through messaging channels like WhatsApp, Snapchat or Facebook Messenger, it may be held on a mobile phone, or it might be hard copies that have been shared. Photos that have been edited to make them sexual could also still be considered Revenge Porn, even if what they depict is objectively ‘fake’.
What constitutes Revenge Porn material?
A photograph or film is ‘private’ if it shows something that is not ‘ordinarily seen in public’. It is ‘sexual’ if it reveals an individual’s ‘exposed genitals or pubic area’ or if it depicts anything a reasonable person would view as sexual, for instance, the subject of the image posed provocatively or involved in a sexual act.
Disclosing the material means giving or showing it to another person or in some way making it available to that person. It includes sharing an image online, via text, or physically exhibiting it to someone.
Intent to cause distress
The material must be shared without the consent of the person it shows and with an intention to cause distress. Intention to cause distress is not the same as being aware that the person whose image it is would be upset if it was shared. For instance, an individual who accidentally discloses an image would not have intended to cause harm or humiliation. It is the jury who will decide whether the accused meant to cause the victim distress.
Contact our Revenge Porn Defence Lawyers (Yorkshire, London, Birmingham, Manchester)
Facing an allegation of Revenge Porn can be frightening. Our sexual offences solicitors are ready to assist and advise, helping our clients through an experience that might otherwise prove overwhelming. We are constantly on hand to listen without judgment, prepare a rigorous defence and represent our clients’ rights in court. For the help you need, please contact Stuart Sutton on 07798753720, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
