Suspended sentence for revenge porn

A woman who posted explicit images of her girlfriend “to hurt and humiliate” her victim after an argument has walked free from court.

Paige Mitchell, 24, is the first woman to be sentenced for revenge porn in the UK when she was handed a six-week suspended jail term at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court.

Mitchell, from Shephall Way in Stevenage, said she posted the four sexually explicit images of her girlfriend on her Facebook page after the argument, when Mitchell was accused by the victim of looking at other women.

Chairman of the bench Bette Hindmarsh said: “Posting the photos on the internet was a highly vindictive invasion of privacy... It was done with the intention of humiliating and hurting your victim.”

Mitchell pleaded guilty to one count of assault by beating, and one of disclosing private sexual photos and films with intent to cause distress.

The latter has only been a criminal offence since new revenge porn laws were introduced in April. So far, around a dozen men have been convicted in England.

Mitchell was handed a six-week sentence for revenge porn, and a two-week sentence for common assault, to run concurrently. They were suspended for 18 months. She was also made to pay £345 in costs.