Sunshine Coast man pleads guilty to distributing woman’s sex tape on Snapchat

A Sunshine Coast man has breached the trust of a woman he had sex with after forwarding their intimate video to a lady on Snapchat during an “odd” online affair.

A Sunshine Coast man leaving Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading guilty to distributing prohibited visual recordings. Picture: Sam Turner

A Sunshine Coast man has been told he breached a woman’s trust after he sent a video of her having sex with him to an online tryst.

Maroochydore Magistrates Court heard the man, who was not named to protect the victim’s identity, took the intimate video of the woman with her consent, but then sent it to another woman he was having a Snapchat affair with.

Police prosecutor James Allen told the court on Monday the man in his 20s, who pleaded guilty to distributing prohibited visual recordings, had his act discovered by the victim when she accessed his phone.

Mr Allen said the victim discovered the Snapchat thread where the man sent the video to a friend on April 23.

The court heard the man had not met the online friend in real life and only knew her by her Snapchat handle. Mr Allen said the man had an online sexual relationship with her when he sent the intimate video.

The police prosecutor said the video did not show the faces of the man and the victim.

The man left the court following his sentence.

When the victim discovered the man in his 20s sent the video on June 3, she confronted him and the pair went to the Sippy Downs Police Station to report the incident.

The court heard the man made full admissions to police.

Mr Allen said even though the video was sent to one person, it was hard to know what the person may do with it.

“Once these recordings go out into the community they certainly could be shared by other people,” he said.

Acting magistrate Anna Smith clarified to Mr Allen the circumstances of the offence involving the man, the victim and the Snapchat woman.

“Bit odd isn’t it … maybe I’m just old,” Ms Smith said.

Defence counsel David Cole tendered character references to the court and said the man was currently in interviews to be employed at a hardware store.

Mr Cole said the court should consider the remorse the man in his 20s showed by going to the police station.

Ms Smith accepted the man was apologetic and how he co-operated with police.

The magistrate said it was also accepted youthful offenders do some “foolish, foolish things” and opted to not record a conviction against him.

He was instead sentenced to 12 months’ probation for the “breach of trust” against the woman.