Hobart man could be jailed under recent Australia-wide laws targeting revenge porn

A Hobart man faces the prospect of jail under laws designed to tackle revenge porn and image-based abuse – after he sent naked pictures of his wife on Facebook messenger.

A Hobart man has pleaded guilty to three counts of a Commonwealth offence – using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence by distributing private sexual material.

A Hobart man faces the prospect of jail under relatively-new laws designed to tackle revenge porn and image-based abuse, after he used Facebook messenger to send naked photos of his wife.

The man, in his 40s, faced the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Monday after pleading guilty to three counts of a Commonwealth offence – using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence by distributing private sexual material.

Commonwealth prosecutor Rose Bollard said the offences were “relatively new” and aggravated in this instance as the material was of a private and sexual nature.

She said while there was no evidence the man sent the photos as an act of revenge, the offending was “clearly a gross invasion of the privacy of the complainant and a significant breach of trust”.

Supreme Court of Tasmania, Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

Ms Bollard said the man had taken photos of his wife in the shower without her consent, then sent them to others – also without her consent – in 2020 and 2022.

“There has been a great increase in this type of conduct in Australia,” she said.

“The material is sent usually over the internet and has the potential to be widely distributed.”

Ms Bollard said the man would take pictures of his wife naked around the house, with the woman asking why and telling him to stop.

Then in 2020, he sent many messages to another woman on Facebook of a sexual nature, saying things like “morning sexy boobs” and asking her to “sext” with him.

He told the woman, “here’s something to warm you up”, sending her two pictures of his wife naked in the shower – which he’d taken without her consent.

Two years later, the man messaged another man on Facebook, sending a picture of his wife in the shower, and asking for a photo of the other man’s wife.

The two recipients contacted each other about the communication and told the man’s wife what had been happening.

When the man was interviewed by police, he said he’d sent the pictures to the other woman as he thought there might be the “chance of a threesome”.

Ms Bollard encouraged Justice Geason to consider an immediate sentence of imprisonment, given the severity of offending.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the man’s former wife said she felt “emotionally and psychologically drained” from what had happened, and “so ashamed”.

“Any communication from him causes me to break out in a sweat and causes my heart to beat uncontrollably,” she said.

“I’m worried for my safety and I’m constantly looking over my shoulder.

“I am worried he will find out where I live and torment me. I fear he will continue to harass me once the court cases finalises.

“I feel like a piece of dirt, like a doormat, worthless.”

The man’s lawyer said the conduct was offensive, as opposed to menacing or harassing – and that he was deeply remorseful.

“It made him very sad to hear how his behaviour had impacted on the complainant,” she said.

“He wants the complainant to feel safe.”

The lawyer also noted he’d sent the pictures to two individuals, and not uploaded them onto a publicly-accessible site.

“(He) didn’t share the images with the intention of menacing or threatening or enacting revenge.”

Justice Geason ordered the man be assessed for home-based detention.

The crimes the man has pleaded guilty to were introduced in 2018 but have been rarely prosecuted in Tasmania.

The crime has a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

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