Territory Cop Mary-Ellen Pascoe, 23, pleads guilty to spreading revenge porn of another police officer

A TERRITORY COP wept in court on Thursday when she was convicted of spreading so-called ‘revenge porn’ of another police officer

Mary-Ellen Pascoe has been convicted on revenge porn charges. She is pictured, in happier times, graduating from the NT Police College in 2017

A TERRITORY COP wept in court on Thursday when she was convicted of distributing so-called “revenge porn” of another police officer.

Mary-Ellen Carmody Arndt Pascoe, 23, pleaded guilty in Darwin Local Court to distributing intimate images and using a carriage service to harass.

Pascoe, originally from Queensland, now faces the possibility of being booted from the force, two years after graduating from the police college.

The court heard Pascoe in June found a number of “intimate images” of another police officer on her then-boyfriend’s phone.

Crown Prosecutor Tami Grealy said one of the photos was of the woman fully naked standing in front of a mirror.

Pascoe sent the images to her then-boyfriend, the woman, and to the woman’s husband, and sent text messages to the woman calling her a “sl*t”, “a filthy whore”, and the “exact kind of person who steals the earth’s oxygen”.

Pascoe also wrote: “the Police force is a small place”.

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Pascoe’s lawyer, Ray Murphy, said his client’s motive was not to humiliate her victim and argued she should not be convicted.

Mr Murphy said it was “to her credit” she didn’t put the photos online “for the world to see”.

He said Pascoe had a history of volunteering with children and had been praised for her efforts reviving an unconscious prisoner.

Crown Prosecutor Tami Grealy said not convicting Pascoe would send the wrong message to the community.

Mary-Ellen Pascoe shared “revenge porn” of a colleague and called her “a filthy whore” in a series of abusive text messages

“In my submission this is exactly the kind of revenge conduct that the legislation is designed to prohibit.”

She said it was important to send a message to other would-be revenge porn offenders.

“Quite apart from that, the defendant is a police officer who is a person who is entrusted to uphold the law.”

Judge Tanya Fong Lim said it was disappointing to see Pascoe in court as a defendant rather than a police officer.

Ms Fong Lim said it was fortunate the photos weren’t spread more widely, and didn’t make their way online.

“I have no doubt that this has caused the victim some distress,” she said.

“You no doubt weren’t thinking straight when you did this.

“If I were to not convict you of these charges I would be sending the wrong message to other people.”

She convicted Pascoe and sentenced her to a 12 month good behaviour bond.

Pascoe is also the subject of internal disciplinary proceedings.