Assistant commissioner to lead urgent probe into intimate images leak

Thousands of pictures and videos, mainly of Irish women, were shared on forums, mainly the Discord forum, in November last year. File picture.

An Assistant Garda Commissioner is to spearhead an "urgent and prioritised" inquiry into the mass-leaking of intimate images last year.

The passing of the 'Coco's Law' legislation last week means gardaí will now be able to crack down on those who have since leaked and shared the images.

Thousands of pictures and videos, mainly of Irish women, were shared on forums, mainly the Discord forum, in November last year. 

Many of the images were taken without women's knowledge or consent in changing rooms or while they were sleeping while others were taken from various platforms including Only Fans, Tinder, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

A representative group for victims of Image-Based Sexual Abuse, The Victim's Alliance, handed over files to Gardai, which are said to have as many as 11,000 images within one folder. Most of the files are said to have between 5,000 and 6,000.

However gardaí said that, under the legislation as it stood at that time, no criminal offences had been committed.

That, though, was before Coco's Law, also known as the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017, came into force on February 10.

Under the new legislation there are two image-based offences:

• - Distributing, publishing or threatening to distribute or publish an intimate image without consent with intent to cause harm. The penalties applicable can be an unlimited fine and/or 7 years’ imprisonment.
• - Recording, distributing or publishing an intimate image without consent even if there is no specific intent to cause harm. That offence carries a maximum penalty of a €5,000 fine and/or 12 months’ imprisonment.

"An Garda Síochána have already commenced a number of complaints of harassment under this legislation," a garda spokesman said.

The Department of Justice has told the Victims Alliance: "In relation to the concerns raised in respect of the large scale leaking of intimate images in late 2020, please note that an Assistant Commissioner over organised and serious crime has been appointed to carry out an urgent and prioritised inquiry into these allegations."

The new inquiries are into any new complaints related to the images shared in the Discord leak which have been further distributed with a view to prosecuting those involved.

The Irish Examiner spoke with a number of women who had tried to report that their images had been taken and included on the mass-sharing sites but were turned away from garda stations due to lack of legislation. 

It is understood that a number of the victims have since returned and made fresh complaints in light of the new law. 

Since the legislation was signed on December 28, the Victim's Alliance says it has helped more than 35 victims of image-based sexual abuse to have their images removed, make complaints to the Gardai and find them relevant support.

Linda Hayden, the founder of the Victim's Alliance, told the Irish Examiner: "We are delighted to hear that there has been an inquiry opened into the Investigation of the IBSA leaks in November and December 2020. 

"We were quite surprised by the speed of the investigation, given the fact that we had handed over links to over 260,000 images and videos. 

"We also know that in some instances victims who went to report what had happened to them were turned away, and communication from Garda HQ was cited as the reason why.

"We look forward to seeing the outcome of the inquiry, and further assisting An Garda Síochána with this if required."

In the aftermath of the leaks last November, it emerged women working to remove sexually explicit images put online without their consent were being subjected to rape and death threats.