‘Revenge porn’ laws – first person convicted

A man who threatened to put intimate footage of a former partner online has become the first person to be convicted in Scotland under new tougher legislation.

Kenneth Robinson, 59, was banned from approaching or contacting his victim for three years after pleading guilty to sending her numerous emails and repeatedly threatening to upload a video to the internet.

He was also ordered to pay his former partner £200 in compensation.

Robinson, from Northumberland, was sentenced at Jedburgh Sheriff Court yesterday and is the first person convicted under the updated law cracking down on so-called revenge porn which came into force in July.

The legislation means those convicted of disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate photo or video face a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

The change was backed by a Scottish Government information campaign featuring posters with images of mobile phones showing pictures of nude models covered in crime scene tape alongside a warning of the maximum jail term.

Anne Marie Hicks, National Procurator Fiscal for domestic abuse, said such offences are often “online domestic abuse”.