A twenty-one-year old man has become the first person in the U.K. to be convicted for posting "revenge porn" online under new laws.
Jason Asagba, of Romford in northeast London, was charged with disclosing sexual photographs and videos with intent to cause distress on May 15, reported Press Association. Asagba pleaded guilty at the Reading Magistrates' Court.
Man becomes first person to be convicted of sharing revenge porn pictures online https://t.co/qQQBgOGX0v pic.twitter.com/LFHFS77qmp
— Evening Standard (@standardnews) July 20, 2015
"On 16 April, which was only three days after the offence legislation came into force, Asagba threatened to post intimate pictures of a 20-year-old woman from Reading on social media," a local police spokesman said, according to Press Association. Asagba shared intimate pictures of the victim on the social networking website Facebook. He then sent those pictures to members of woman's family.
"We believe that this is the first conviction of the new offence in the country, which highlights the fact that Thames Valley Police takes this crime extremely seriously and will investigate such reports," said Steven Rose, a detective constable at Thames Valley police, according to the BBC.
"This was an extremely distressing case for the victim. However with these new powers, anyone found committing these offences will be dealt with by the court," Rose said, according to the Standard.
Asagba faces a maximum of two years imprisonment for the offense. U.K.'s new revenge porn legislation came into force on April 13. The new laws make it an offense in England and Wales to share explicit pictures or videos without the consent of person or people in them and "with the intention of causing that person distress."
UK #RevengePorn allegations on the rise. With 8 female complaints for every 1 male. https://t.co/AQH70NHLUv via @WMNNews — End Revenge Porn (@EndRevengePorn) July 17, 2015
