Ruby Campbell Macarthur avoids jail-time while facing sentence in Port Macquarie court for filming disturbing sex act
A Mid-North Coast woman who recorded and distributed footage of a disturbing sex act involving another woman and up to six men was acting out of “misconceived motivation”, a court heard.
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A Port Macquarie woman who recorded and distributed footage of a disturbing sex act involving another woman and up to six men was acting out of “misconceived motivation”, a court heard.
The sex act in the footage captured by Ruby Campbell Macarthur has been the subject of a separate police investigation.
The 24-year-old faced Port Macquarie Local Court for sentencing on Thursday.
Macarthur pleaded guilty to intentionally distributing an intimate image without consent and recording an intimate image without consent.
She showed the footage to the woman the next day and the victim had no recollection, court documents state.
The victim went to the police and reported the incident, including an alleged sexual assault. An investigation was launched.
Officers attended Macarthur’s Lake Innes home about a month later and found she still had the footage on her phone.
In court, Magistrate John Arms warned Macarthur she was “knocking on the door” of jail.
She stood silently in a black pants suit and white runners, her long black hair tied back.
It was a completely different look compared to when she faced the same court in December with blond hair and high heels.
Macarthur, referred to as a horse trainer in court documents, initially attempted to have the matter diverted to the mental health system, citing PTSD and autism spectrum disorder.
However, that push was rejected by Magistrate Georgina Darcy.
Ms Darcy previously raised the question of motive for the offending, which took place in the Port Macquarie area in October last year.
“I don’t understand what her motivation is,” Ms Darcy exclaimed after reading police facts handed up to the court.
“How could she allow this to happen to another woman and not assist?” she asked on January 25.
The victim pleaded with Macarthur not to show anyone and texted: “Please don’t send that to anyone, I’m begging you.”
Macarthur sent the footage to one person “out of anger” and admitted as much to police, the court heard during sentencing.
No explanation was offered, but on Thursday her lawyer told the court Macarthur acted out of a form of “misconceived motivation”.
“Out of concern, initially, for her friend engaging in – in her mind – in a consensual act,” she said.
“It was part of a broader pattern of behaviour and a misplaced position of showing her friend what kind of actions she was engaged in as part of an unhealthy lifestyle.”
Macarthur was no longer working and she and her family experienced reputational damage exacerbated by “national media exposure”, her lawyer told the court.
The defence told the court Macarthur’s mother, who was in court to support her, operates a horse cryogenics business in the Port Macquarie region, but lost a major US export contract “as a result of media exposure”.
In response, a police prosecutor pointed out lifelong impacts to the victim due to the offending.
The maximum jail term for distributing intimate images is three years in prison.
Mr Arms said Macarthur’s “saving grace” was that she only distributed the footage to a single person and she did not have a record of offending.
But Mr Arms pointed out a sentence assessment report indicated a lack of contrition and “skewed thinking” about the offending.
“If a man had done this to a woman”, time in prison would be the likely outcome, Mr Arms said.
Macarthur was convicted and sentenced to a two-year community correction order.
Mr Arms said the order was in lieu of a jail-term and Macarthur must be of good behaviour, or face court again.
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Originally published as Ruby Campbell Macarthur avoids jail-time while facing sentence in Port Macquarie court for filming disturbing sex act
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