Criminal Law

By Kate Gunther

31.08.16

Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I’m only falling apart…

Most of us are probably familiar with the heart ache of a break up. Even in mutual splits there is bound to be some level of animosity between the parties. Whilst break ups bring all sorts of unpleasant experiences such as deciding who keeps what – from the cars, to mutual friends, and even the dog! – There can be much darker consequences if you have shared sexually explicit photos or videos with your once trusted companion.

Whilst we would all like to think we are good people and the person we share an intimate relationship with is also an equally upstanding person, many people have fallen victim to “revenge porn” which is the sharing of sexually explicit photos or videos without consent of the person, or people, in those images. When we are all “loved up” we forget to be cautious. Taking consensual images may seem like a fun idea at the time but when you factor in the potentially disastrous effect a break up can have on people, it’s probably best to avoid the cameras.

In the heat of the moment there is no telling what a person might do when they are hurt or jealous after losing their intimate partner. As criminal defence lawyers, we have seen, time and again, momentary lapses of judgment with devastating repercussions. For all parties. Not only will the publication of such images be emotionally harmful and humiliating but if you are the distributor you can wind up with criminal charges! The justice system treats these offences very seriously, imposing harsh sentences, including terms of imprisonment.

In our experience most people who get caught up in this sort of offending behaviour fail to realise the consequences of their actions, only coming to terms with the seriousness of their conduct when they sit opposite one of our criminal defence lawyers and have it explained to them in confronting detail.

Perhaps we may all be best advised to keep our intimate photos or videos to ourselves or only share them with the expectation that they may not remain private, particularly if there’s been a total eclipse of the heart.

 

… turn around bright eyes.