Revenge Porn

It’s a time when it’s hard to sleep well, there will be anxiety about what people will think of you, and you will feel desperate to clear your name to protect your reputation.

If you’re a professional, you’ll be very concerned about what allegations of this nature can do to your career and quality of life. Understandably, you’ll be feeling under pressure and having sleepless nights.

To help you to get through this challenging time, we’ve put together a few of the questions that clients typically ask when they are involved in a revenge porn offence investigation. We aim to support you emotionally and practically at a time when you feel vulnerable and worried that your life could potentially be transformed.

If you have any questions that we haven’t answered here, please contact us to find out more information about what to expect in an investigation or case of this nature. You can use our contact us form.

Have you been accused of Revenge Porn offences?

If you or somebody close to you has been arrested or charged in connection with a revenge porn case, you will be feeling very confused, worried, stressed and concerned about what’s going to happen.

For the prosecution to prove revenge porn, they must show:

If you are the accused, it is not for you to prove your innocence but for the prosecution to prove your guilt.

If you are the victim of revenge porn

The first step will be to take legal action to seek the removal of private photos and videos. These types of situations can be created by a jealous or spurned lover who wants to cause hurt. In some cases, it’s an act that is carried out by somebody you know or even don’t know and who isn’t a former partner.

Although there is no justification for carrying out such personal attacks, with camera phones being omnipresent and two out of three of these having instant access to the internet, decisions made on the spur of the moment can have terrible consequences and can damage reputations. Although victims will feel helpless, some things can be done for them.

You will feel a sense of panic, horror and embarrassment. Try to stay calm as some actions can be taken. You should inform the police and seek the guidance of an experienced cybercrime solicitor.

If the person in the revenge porn is below 18 years old and you are their parent, it’s important to note that it’s considered to be a serious criminal offence. You need to contact the police immediately. This is likely to be a very traumatic situation for your child to go through, and it could affect their future.

If you’re a child and you have discovered somebody has posted something of this nature of you, then it’s essential to tell your parents or another adult whom you trust and who is responsible.

We do not recommend contacting the person who has posted the material. Somebody has already breached your trust and has taken this action, and this person could well be a difficult person to reason with.

After contacting the police, it’s time to make a civil claim against them even if they are sorry. Whatever they have published may have been shared, and they may not have the power to remove it from all media platforms.

Our solicitors have had success at removing videos and photographs from even the most determined revenge porn sites, who claim that they never remove photographs. We can also persuade internet service providers to block links or remove them to offending sites and material.

What type of actions are considered Revenge porn?

The most common revenge porn acts include:

If you are being investigated for any of these offences in relation to revenge porn, it’s critical that you take professional legal advice as quickly as possible.

What happens in a Revenge porn investigation?

When a revenge porn investigation takes place, it can be a very worrying time. You’ll wonder how it will affect your primary relationship, that with your children and other family members. What will the effect be on your career or business? You may worry that you’ll be imprisoned and that you won’t have enough funds to cover bills, food and anything else that your family needs. Your world feels upside down, and it’s more than casting a dark shadow over it.

You may have been falsely accused of revenge porn

If you have been falsely accused of revenge porn but you know that you didn’t post intimate images or videos of a person online or disseminated them via traditional means, it’s vital that you take legal advice as quickly as possible.

Instruct a legal professional as soon as possible

If you have been accused of revenge porn, it is of utmost importance that you seek help immediately. The faster your legal team is engaged, the better your chances of success. Our team are here to listen to your side of the case, to talk you through the process, and to put together a defence that will be in your best interests.

What should you do if you get arrested or charged with Revenge porn?

We will work with you to understand your account of events and then decide how best to present your side of the story. In doing this, we will analyse the prosecution’s case in detail, we will contest the admissibility of evidence and fight rigorously to ensure all disclosure has been provided, especially materially which may assist the defence case.

We will engage brilliant and specialist sexual offences barristers and experienced cybercrime solicitors who will stand with us side by side throughout your case. If there is any reason to explore mobile phone evidence or computer evidence, we will engage specialists who do just that and then invite them to present their findings to the court.

Can the police search my home?

The police can search your home as they will be seeking evidence. The authorities will have granted access to your property, and the police will carry through the search.

What type of sentence could you get for Revenge porn?

Depending on what you are charged with and what happened, you may be imprisoned for a maximum of two years. Read more about sentencing for Revenge Porn.

What mitigating factors may be considered in sentencing?

When sentencing for revenge porn, your case will be looked at closely for how much harm you have caused the victim, mentally and physically.

Your personal circumstances, medical conditions, assets and good deeds will all be considered by the judge.

Could you go to prison for Revenge porn?

Revenge porn is a serious offence and most times you will receive a prison sentence from it. However, it’s not the case every time. In some situations, you may even be able to get your case resolved outside of the court system.

We handle revenge porn cases regularly and have in-depth knowledge in this arena.

Does a conviction for Revenge porn go on your criminal record?

If your revenge porn case is heard in court and you are convicted of the crime, your conviction will be recorded on your CRB / police record.

The period of the endorsement will depend on the nature and length of the sentence imposed on you.

In addition, your name will be added to the ‘sex offenders register’ and you will be subjected to ‘notification requirements’.

How Can Stuart Miller Solicitors Help?

Being accused of revenge porn is hugely distressing. While the rule of law and the Human Rights Act follow the principle of everyone being ‘innocent until proven guilty’, those accused of revenge porn will inevitably feel they are being assumed to be guilty until they prove their innocence.

Our cybercrime lawyers and sexual offences solicitors have substantial knowledge and experience dealing with all forms of digital media. Whether your case involves the use of a mobile phone device, a tablet, laptop or computer; rest assured our lawyers will do everything possible to challenge the prosecution’s case, to use technological experts and to identify every piece of evidence useful to your defence.

With the development of technology and increased demand for sexual gratification, sharing sexual messages using digital media has become the norm. However, once the image or video has been sent, the sender no longer has control over the use of the same and the receiver can easily share the image on all sorts of platforms including social media, reaching potentially millions of viewers to cause permanent embarrassment.

Sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and stress are but some of the physical symptoms you may suffer while battling the charges. The impact on your well-being, your loved ones and any business you may be operating is immeasurable.

You will no doubt be battling the ‘what if’ syndrome and running your mind through countless possibilities and hypothesis. It is therefore fundamentally important that you engage specialist sexual offences solicitors from the very outset.

What will happen when I instruct a revenge porn lawyer?

While revenge porn is a relatively new piece of legislation, its application and use have risen substantially since implementation. Causing distress by disclosing a private sexual image or video without the consent of the person featuring in it is a criminal offence for which a term of 2 years’ imprisonment can be imposed.

If you have been accused of a revenge porn offence or you anticipate being arrested for the same, you must act immediately and seek advice. Acting early ensures you secure the best possible chances of succeeding in your case. We will not only listen to your side of the story and begin gathering evidence to support your case, we will also scrutinise the medium used to disclose the images or videos. We will ensure the prosecution can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, that the images were shared from your device and by you.

If the need arises, we will engage telephony and computer experts who will dissect the way technology allows the sharing of material. They will explore all technological possibilities including that of a third party elsewhere hacking into your device to steal the images or videos for sharing.

Our cybercrime lawyers have access to some of the best barristers and QCs in the UK. We can engage the most suitable barrister to stand side by side with your solicitor to create an exceptional defence team.

Would you like to discuss your case before instructing us?

If you’d like to have a no obligation chat with us before you instruct us to take your case, then contact us today.

In addition to giving you a free consultation, we can also represent you at the police station if you’ve been arrested. We can look at securing your legal aid.

Please contact us for a face to face meeting or a telephone call. There is a WhatsApp link on this page if that is your preference.