Luke King jailed for WhatsApp 'revenge porn'

Revenge porn involves sharing explicit material of someone without their consent

A man who shared an explicit photo of his former girlfriend using the messaging service WhatsApp has been jailed for harassment.

Luke King, who had previously threatened to put explicit photos of the woman on the internet, changed his profile picture to one of the images.

The woman, from Derbyshire, told police she was "disgusted" and "really upset" by the act of so-called "revenge porn".

King, 21, of Calcroft Close, Aspley, Nottingham, was jailed for 12 weeks.

He was sentenced at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court, where he had previously pleaded guilty to the offence, which happened on 8 August.

New law

The woman told police she had sent King the images for him to see only.

Derbyshire Police said King's victim had previously contacted them when he initially threatened to post the images, and officers warned him not to do so.

A spokesman said: "It's important for people to realise that it is an offence to harass others in this way. We agree with the judge that it was a despicable thing to do, especially after Luke King received warnings to stop.

"Anyone who is subjected to this type of crime should keep the evidence and contact the police as soon as possible."

King was prosecuted under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, but other people who distribute revenge porn images and videos could face two years in jail under a new law dealing specifically with the practice.

The amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill covers material shared via the internet, text messages and via physical distribution.

WhatsApp, which King used to display the image, is a messaging service for mobile phones where users can send photos and videos using the internet.