An MP in Australia’s Parliament has called for a police investigation over the release of a video of a former Parliament staffer engaged in sexual acts on government property.
The story began last week, when a staffer named Nathan Winn lost his job over the leak of the footage by his former friend and sometime boyfriend Gavin Cuddy. The video in question shows Winn performing oral sex on a man in the House of Parliament and masturbating on a female MP’s desk. Cuddy has also hinted that he has other sex tape-type videos of other staffers, which he has also threatened to release.
For Liberal MP Warren Entsch, the release of the Winn video should have triggered a full investigation into Cuddy.
“Let’s make it clear: it is revenge porn,” Entsch told The Sunday Morning Herald. “Any material provided to the government should be forwarded to the Australian Federal Police for investigation.”
Related: Australia’s queer community in furor over…gay ice cream?
Entsch also defended Winn’s privacy–though not his actions–arguing that the release of the footage was an egregious mistake on the part of Cuddy. Though Cuddy says he gave the sex tape to journalists to expose the hidden goings-on of Parliament, Entsch pointed out that Cuddy only did so after Winn became engaged to his current fiance.
“Nathan basically shut him down and this character has now decided to get even,” Entsch said of Cuddy’s actions, again intimating that the release of the tape was motivated by revenge, not whistle-blowing against corruption.
Cuddy has insisted to reporters that his releasing the tape had nothing to do with Winn’s engagement. Regardless, Cuddy now faces charges of releasing intimate images without consent, and could face up to three years in prison. Under Australian law, doing so constitutes an illegal violation of privacy.
Fahd
The three year prison term seems appropriate for such an invasion of privacy, revenge porn, “whistleblowing” whatever you try to call it. I can’t think of anything good resulting from Cuddy’s action.
baddudeguy
So where’s the video? ??
RyanMBecker
Trust me, it’s not that erotic. Unless you like seeing men suck each other off.
Kevan1
People like Cuddy are some of the lowest forms of scum. When you trust a partner with such sensitive things, and they then post these things out of revenge. Well, it reeks of a trashy person that no one else should ever trust. I hope Cuddy goes to prison for revenge porn. He is just tacky trash.
tf3.0
Exactly. I don’t understand people that do such a vengeful, bottom feeder, scum bag type of things.
Honestly, 3 years is not enough; society has no use for people like that.
RyanMBecker
Nathan Winn should be treated no differently than any other staffer. And that includes being fired, which is what occurred. And I hope he learned a lesson about being stupid enough to record such acts — and trusting its possession to another person. That said, Cuddy should be punished to the full extent of the law, including all civil penalties should Winn choose to sue. As for Winn and Cuddy being a couple, it reminds me very much of Laurel and Hardy. Google the names to see what I mean.