Man, 26, jailed at Cork court for threatening to post intimate images of former partner online

A 26-year-old man was jailed for a year for threatening to post intimate images of his former partner online.

Judge Jonathan Dunphy imposed a sentence of two and a half years on the accused with the last 18 months suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

He was prosecuted by Detective Garda David O’Shea under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act of 2020 on a charge dating back to February 18 2021 where he threatened to distribute or publish intimate images of his former partner without her consent with the intention of causing her harm or being reckless as to whether harm was caused to her.

The act precludes publication of any details that would identify the complainant in such a case, so it is not possible to name the defendant in this case, with whom the complainant had been in a relationship for a number of years.

She prepared a victim impact statement which was read on her behalf by Det. Garda O’Shea. This statement concluded with her saying that not alone did she not feel able to read the statement in person in court but she did not want to be in the same room as the accused.

In her statement, she said that at the end of the relationship he kept getting in contact so she blocked him on social media.

“But he contacted family and friends threatening me to get in contact.

“When I did not, he began to email and said, ‘If you don’t respond you know what is going to happen’ and he put in a camera emoji.

“I panicked and begged him not to post pictures. He said it was his phone and he could do what he wanted.” The young woman said she began to feel suicidal and because of issues with her mental health she started taking anti-depressants. She said that before her relationship with the accused she never had any mental health problems. Now – more than three years later – she is still reluctant to get into a relationship with anyone.

Ray Boland defence senior counsel said the accused was in a more stable stage of his life than ever before and was in fulltime employment and there were testimonials in court to the credit of the accused.

Judge Dunphy said, “He is very apologetic, he says he would never have published the images but the injured party was never to know that.

“At the time of the offence he was abusing drink and drugs. And he does not do that now. Clearly he has a problem with anger. He says he is willing to go into treatment and counselling.

“The way he treated the injured party is nothing short of criminal and immature and he is deemed to be at moderate risk of reoffending.” The judge expressed some concern at the probation officer’s findings that during some of the defendant’s meetings with the service the young man showed himself to be angry and resentful.

After serving the year in custody the defendant will be required to attend counselling and remain under the supervision of the probation service. 

Judge Dunphy also ordered him to have no contact direct or indirect with the injured party for the next ten years.