Cardiff man sentenced for 'revenge porn' post

Clayton Kennedy is thought to be the first person in Wales to be sentenced under the new 'revenge porn' law

A Cardiff man who admitted posting a picture on Facebook of a woman performing a sexual act has been fined and given a community order.

Clayton Kennedy is thought to be the first person in Wales to be sentenced for the new "revenge porn" charge of disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress.

Cardiff magistrates heard the picture was on Kennedy's page for 30 minutes.

It was seen by friends of the victim and the 20-year-old defendant.

The court heard the picture was commented on by some of Kennedy's friends before he removed it.

'Vindictive activity'

His lawyer told the court the image was posted in retaliation for images the woman had posted of him.

But the woman denied that and police found no evidence of those images.

She also told police she never consented to having the image posted and was worried about people seeing it.

Cardiff magistrate Dr Chantal Nichols said: "This was a nasty offence with the potential to have a emotional impact on the victim.

"This is a relatively new offence but we want to make sure that you understand that what you did is very serious."

Kennedy was fined £405. He was also made the subject of a restraining order to stay away from victim.

Siobhan Blake, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Cymru-Wales, said: "Although this case was brought to court under new legislation introduced within the last year, it should not be a surprise to anyone that online conduct of this nature is a criminal offence.

"The distress caused by this type of behaviour is considerable and we want to make it abundantly clear that those who engage in this type of vindictive activity can expect to find themselves in court."