Man in Coffs Harbour court for sending intimate images of ex

“It’s appalling you have done that”, said the Coffs magistrate when sentencing a man for distributing intimate images and videos of his ex-partner to other men.

A man who sent intimate images and videos of his ex-partner to three other men has narrowly avoided jail time.

The Moonee Beach man was before magistrate Julia Virgo in Coffs Harbour Local Court on Tuesday, September 13, facing several charges in relation to a series of messages sent on the evening of August 14.

According to police documents tendered to court, the 42-year-old had been in a relationship with the victim for approximately 18 months and during that time they had exchanged intimate photos and videos but at no point did she consent to them being shared with others.

Throughout their time together, when the couple were fighting, he threatened to send the images and videos to other people, the documents outlined.

They separated in July and it was a month later that the incidents occurred.

Magistrate Julia Virgo said once images were sent electronically there was no control over where they might end up.

Police facts state the images and videos were sent with accompanying messages calling her a ‘slut’ and saying ‘give her a call’ with a winky face emoji and passing on her number.

The three recipients all contacted the victim to let her know what had happened and were witnesses in the police investigation, facts tendered to the court outlined.

Police facts stated she felt ‘disgusted, sick and mortified’ and was concerned she could lose her livelihood and that when she contacted her ex partner about the matter he replied ‘I’m sorry I was drunk and angry last night’.

The court heard the accused entered an early guilty plea to three charges of intentionally distribute an image without consent (domestic violence) when he appeared voluntarily at the Coffs Harbour Police Station in relation to the matter on August 17.

His lawyer told the court the images were sent over a “discreet period of time” and that there were no “rogue” images on the internet.

To this, Ms Virgo responded “I cannot accept that”.

She told the court that once the photos were sent, there was no control over where they might end up and “that is why this offending is so grave”.

Ms Virgo did accept that his guilty plea had saved his victim from coming to court, but she described the offending as abhorrent and just below the threshold of a jail sentence.

“It is appalling you have done that,” she said.

The man was convicted of the three charges and given a 10-month community corrections order.