Police investigate 'revenge porn' plot against top female celebrity as man arrested over 'leaked sexual images'
A man has been arrested as police investigation an alleged revenge porn incident involving a top female celebrity is launched.
According to The Express, the man in his 30s was arrested by police on Wednesday, August 14 after the unidentified celebrity made a complaint to police. Copes also searched the man’s home and seized a computer as part of the investigation.
Police confirmed that a man was arrested on suspicion of “sharing a film or photograph of a person in an intimate setting, with intent to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003.” He was also fingerprinted, photographed and DNA samples were taken, as well as being questioned in the presence of a solicitor. A source close to the unidentified star told The Sun: “She was absolutely mortified to see these pictures shared and took swift action. It is a terrible thing to do to someone and is a desecration of their right to privacy.”
Revenge porn, or the act of sharing or threatening to share private, sexual photographs or videos of someone without their permission, is illegal in the UK. This may include posting them online, sharing them via private messaging or showing someone a physical or electronic image.
One of the highest profile cases of revenge porn came when reality TV star Stephen Bear was convicted and jailed to 21 months in prison for one count of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs of his ex-girlfriend and former Love Island star Georgia Harrison. Bear posted videos of the couple having sex to his OnlyFans page without Ms Harrison’s permission and profited off of the sale of the video.