REVENGE PORN VICTIM TERRIFIED
Becky went to police after explicit images of her were posted online without her permission but believes she’s been “laughed at”, writes Emily Toxward & Chris McMahon
A YOUNG Gold Coast woman is too petrified to leave her home after falling victim to a horrible case of revenge porn that has seen her receive death threats and hundreds of “vile and disgusting” messages.
The 21-year-old, who had created sexual content for an online site called Only Fans that allows paying subscribers to see images she uploads, says a disgruntled subscriber began demanding sexual favours in return for money and when refused, used her photos on bogus online advertisements that attracted threats and lewd offers.
Becky (not her real name) says she has fallen into a pit of crippling anxiety after being turned away by support organisations where she sought help.
She has also slammed local police, who she claims have failed to take her case seriously and for “talking down to me like I am an idiot and a piece of sh-t, I feel like I’ve been completely ridiculed and laughed at”.
But senior police say her case is being investigated as a combination of revenge porn breaches and stalking offences, and “people of interest’’ have been identified. “This kind of behaviour is unacceptable,’’ Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith said.
Becky said she had been using the Only Fans online platform for about six months, but on February 19 her world was turned upside down when one of her subscribers became upset because she refused his advances.
The person, thought to be a Gold Coast local, contacted her through Snapchat and asked her to sell drugs for him, which she refused.
He continued to contact her asking for sexual favours in return for money. When she continually refused he was furious and threatened to take her copyrighted content from Only Fans and post it across social media and run her out of the Gold Coast.
She blocked the man, refunded his subscription and then blocked his accounts on Snapchat.
She said that was just the beginning of her ordeal.
Becky said she started receiving death threats via text message from an unknown person, who she later found out was a sex worker and best friends with the disgruntled subscriber.
“The same girl told me to kill myself along with other threats and disgusting messages. Not even five minutes later I was notified by Twitter that I was tagged in a post,” she said.
“It was a screen recording of my Only Fans account posted by both this man and woman. I was able to report the girl’s tweet to Twitter and it was removed within five minutes.”
She was unable to get the man’s offending post removed immediately because he had a private account.
The Bulletin has seen multiple posts made to Twitter of Becky’s images shared.
About half an hour later she started getting text messages asking if she “was ready?”
When she asked what was meant by the question, she learned someone was replying to an advertisement on Locanto – an ad she did not create.
Locanto is a free online classified site widely used by escorts to advertise their services.
“This person was kind enough to send me the link to the ad and I fell to the ground in absolute tears. Within an hour I had over 100 texts and calls regarding this advert.
“Not only was my face, my real name, my real age, my phone number and my real location posted, but pornographic images of me,” she said.
The Bulletin has seen the X-rated advertisements saying Becky was willing to perform sex acts cheaply.
She said the disgruntled subscriber had stolen photos from her Only Fans page and created an advertisement detailing escort services and lewd acts that Becky said she does not, and has never, provided.
She immediately called police to make a complaint and asked them to help remove the offending advertisement. But she was referred to another station and the advertisement remained online.
“I rang family members for support and some disowned me immediately because I was disgusting for selling myself. My dad told me how disgusting I was and has stopped talking to me,” she said.
“I was already in fear of my life because of the death threats but adding to that the hundreds if not thousands of men with my images who could possibly attack me due to the nature of the ad that was posted.”
It took a week for her to have the Locanto advertisement removed, but that was only because she contacted her friends on Snapchat asking them to report it.
Becky believes her complaint has not been taken seriously by police and that she has been let down by the people who are meant to be protecting her.
“I feel defeated and slapped down by everyone who is supposed to help. I have done nothing to deserve this but am being made to feel like I have,” she said.
I just feel stupid, like why did I even bother contacting the police in the first place. I feel like I’m in the wrong when I’m not. BECKY