Under new UK laws introduced last April, the first Brit to be convicted faces sentencing today.
The 21-year-old, who distributed intimate photos of a woman on the internet and by text without her consent, pled guilty last May, one month after the new laws were passed.
He faces a maximum sentence of two years’ in prison for the crime.
The new crime is distinguished from non-criminal posting of intimate photos by “a violation of trust between two people, with a purpose to publicly humiliate,” according to Britain’s Director of Public Prosecutions.
Before the new legislation was passed, similar crimes were brought to trial under harassment and copyright laws. The new law makes it easier to successfully bring charges against vengeful ex-partners, according to the DPP.
The new law is already being flexed in the UK, as police in the country are dealing with the largest ever volume of revenge porn cases, the DPP said.
“We live in a world where images are able to be shared instantaneously and the criminal justice system needs to keep pace with that reality,” Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC said.
“The case (of Asagba) shows that anyone maliciously and deliberately distributing intimate pictures of people without their consent can and will be brought to justice.”
By James Haleavy