Big Brother revenge porn case ends

In December 2022, a high profile revenge porn criminal case ended with the defendant being found guilty, after he published a film of himself having sex with a woman on his OnlyFans account.

The defendant Stephen Bear, won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016. He had denied the charges against him, despite capturing the video using CCTV in his garden and then publishing it on his OnlyFans account, where subscribers had to pay to see the content.

The jury found Bear guilty of disclosing private sexual photos and films with intent to cause distress, and also guilty of a separate offence of voyeurism.

The victim, who has not remained anonymous, but who's name we are not publishing, was not aware that the CCTV was filming her. When she found out, she told Bear that he could not disclose the content to anybody. He ignored her, and published the video to third parties and to his Only Fans account. 

After being found guilty, Bear complained that he hadn't had a fair trial.

This case has shone a light again on he murky world of revenge pornography. Clearly not all cases involve high profile defendants and victims - many will relate to ordinary people, who are filmed or photographed (sometimes with their consent, and sometimes not), with those images ending up circulating online. 

Often there can be an element of coercion or blackmail involved in these cases. 

The very first step in any revenge porn case is to report the matter to the police. It is a gross violation of a victim's privacy for such material to be shared without their consent. 

In addition to the police pursuing a criminal case against a defendant, it is usually possible to bring a civil claim against them for damages at the same time. 

If you would like to explore the possibility of suing someone for revenge porn, contact us today to find out how we can help.