(Sept. 14, 2015) The first female prosecuted under England’s recently enacted “revenge porn law,” a law introduced to punish the sharing of sexually explicit images of people without their consent when intending to cause distress, received a sentence of six weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. Provided the defendant does not commit any additional crimes or violate any terms of probation during the 18 months of suspension, she will not serve any time in prison. (Siobhan Fenton, Revenge Porn Laws: First Person Found Guilty Under New Laws to Be Sentenced Today, INDEPENDENT (London) (Aug. 7, 2015).)
Paige Mitchel posted four sexually explicit pictures of her girlfriend online via the social media platform Facebook after an argument occurred between the couple. The images were removed within 30 minutes of posting, after Mitchel’s mother informed her that it was against the law to post such images. The couple later reconciled; however, charges were already filed; the case proceeded to court under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which provides that it is an offense to disclose private, sexually explicit photographs or film without the consent of the individual who appears in the photograph, with the intention to cause distress to the individual in the images or film. The offense is punishable with up to two years of imprisonment. (Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, c. 2, LEGISLATION.GOV.UK; ‘Revenge Porn’ Woman Paige Mitchell Gets Suspended Jail Term, BBC NEWS (Sept. 1, 2015).)
The law was introduced in April 2015, and the first conviction on charges for commission of this offense followed in August 2015; approximately a dozen men have since been convicted of the crime. (Fenton, supra; Woman Pleads Guilty to Posting Revenge Porn Photos of Girlfriend, GUARDIAN (London) (Sept. 1, 2015); Owen Bowcott, Revenge Porn to be Criminal Office with Threat of Two Years in Jail, GUARDIAN (London) (Oct. 12, 2014); David Barrett, What Is the Law on Revenge Porn?, TELEGRAPH (London) (Apr. 13, 2015).)
