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Woman Becomes First To Be Sentenced For Revenge Porn After Posting Naked Photos Of Her Girlfriend Online

imagesHell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but if said woman was planning on exacting her revenge by posting nude photos of her significant other, she better think twice. A woman from England was given jail time for posting sexually explicit images of her girlfriend online, and she now holds the dubious honor of being the first woman in the UK to be sentenced for revenge porn.

Paige Mitchell posted four naked images of her girlfriend on Facebook after an argument between the couple in which the victim accused Mitchell of looking at other women. The photos were captioned with humiliating insults and remained online for 30 minutes, but were taken down when Mitchell’s mother informed her it was illegal to post the photos online.

110131_hands_keyboard_istock_328In addition to being sentenced to six-weeks for revenge porn, Mitchell also pled guilty to common assault and received a two-week sentence for that charge. Both sentences were suspended for 18 months, but will be served concurrently. While the couple reconciled after the incident, Mitchell asked the court to issue her with a restraining order that would prevent her from having any further contact with the victim.

Revenge porn laws went into effect in England in April. Since then, it is estimated that about a dozen men have been convicted of the crime, but Mitchell marks the first case where a female has been prosecuted and subsequently sentenced.

Joanna Coleman of the Crown Prosecution Service stated, “These vengeful crimes are predominantly thought of as being carried out by men. This sentencing will highlight that anyone can be guilty of this offence and regardless of the defendant’s gender, once reported, it will be taken seriously. Crimes where an intimate image of an individual is shared without their permission in such a public forum is invasive, humiliating and distressing for the victim and leaves them feeling violated. It can have a huge impact on the victim and I am pleased that more people are having the confidence to come forward and report these crimes.”

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