Girl, 18, spared jail over ‘revenge porn’ video
ATEENAGER has been spared prison after posting a ‘revenge porn’ style video on Facebook of her best friend having sex.
Danika France, 18, walked in with a camera while her friend, Leah Trevena, was in bed with a man following after a night out.
She told the victim that she had deleted the video, but a month later, when the pair fell out, got a friend to post a screenshot onto Miss Trevena’s Facebook page. France later posted the video in full onto her own Facebook page.
Sentencing France at Macclesfield Magistrates Court, Magistrates told her they considered sending her to jail for the offence which Miss Trevena said had left her suicidal.
France, of Athey Street, was given a community order for her crime and ordered to pay £100 compensation to her victim.
Neil Audley, prosecuting, told the court that France filmed Miss Trevena without permission while she was in bed.
He said: “The defendant was downstairs while the victim was engaged in sexual relations with the man upstairs. Miss Trevena became aware that France was stood in the doorway filming her on her phone and laughing. The complainant was unhappy she had taken it and didn’t give her consent.”
Miss Trevena asked France to delete the video but discovered it posted online a month later.
Mr Audley said: “Miss Trevena said she felt sick and could not stop crying. She felt the defendant was trying to get back at her.”
France pleaded guilty at a hearing in December to sending a video to Facebook of non-explicit sexual activity which conveyed a message which was indecent for the purpose of causing distress under the Malicious Communications Act.
At the time, when she discovered her crime was set to feature in The Express, she posted online: ““I’m famous, ha ha! Front page tomorrow, ha!”
France’s sentence included a second offence of assault.
She pleaded guilty at a separate hearing to assaulting Victoria Prendergast in the Society Rooms Wetherspoons pub on Park Green, Macclesfield, on August 13 last year.
The attack happened after the victim sent France a text saying she had been out with her boyfriend. France admitted swinging a punch but said she didn’t hit her. The court heard she grabbed her hand to get her phone, poked her and wiped a tear from her face in a sarcastic manner.
John Gallagher, defending, said France has a strong work ethic and was working with people with mental health issues but has now lost her job.
He said: “It shows the perils of social media. It’s part and parcel of the lives of young people and they don’t think about the consequences. When she took the video it was a prank, nothing malicious, but it was naïve and the consequences have been severe.”
Magistrates gave France a 12 month community order and a three month curfew between 7pm and 7am. She must also pay £100 costs, £100 compensation to Miss Trevena and £50 compensation to Victoria Prendergast.
Peter Nash, chairman of the bench, said: “We’re sentencing you for two offences, the malicious communication being by far the most serious.
“We have considered custody but you gave a guilty plea at the first opportunity and have been naïve so we’re following the recommendation of probation.”
France must not contact Miss Trevena for a year.
Speaking after the original hearing, Miss Trevena said: “I want her to realise what she’s done. She doesn’t know how much it’s affected me. I have been suicidal. I feel really vulnerable. I’m glad the police took me seriously and she has been in court now, so I have some closure. I want people to know that posting things like this online is a very serious issue and people can go to the police.
“It’s so easy to upload and people think there are no real consequences, but there are.”