Wellington man discharged without conviction for sending private images to his victim’s brother

The man was discharged without conviction after he admitted sending private images of his former partner to her brother.

A man who sent a series of sexually explicit photographs and a video of his ex-partner to her brother, in an attempt to humiliate her, told a court he was truly remorseful and would do anything to relieve the anguish he’d caused.

He made the comments while being sentenced on a charge of posting a visual recording without consent, to which he’d earlier pleaded guilty. At his recent sentencing, the man asked to be discharged without conviction and for his name to be permanently suppressed.

But his request angered his victim, who questioned how he could share intimate material about her and then expect to keep his name secret.

The Wellington District Court heard that the man, who is in his thirties, sent the material in the early hours in March last year, about a month after their relationship had ended.

His lawyer, Jamie Connell, told the court the incident was impulsive and out of character, describing it as “an extremely impulsive moment of stupidity in a moment of stress”.

At the time, he explained his client was involved in a dispute with his landlord, was short of funds, and virtually homeless.

“Things were not going well for him at the time,” he said.

He told the court that, unlike other cases of revenge porn which were posted on the internet, this information wasn’t widely shared.

In a victim impact statement that was read to the court, the woman described the long-lasting impact the incident had on her.

She spoke about the intense embarrassment she felt in front of her family, her struggles to concentrate at work, which had also affected her financially because of the time she’d had off.

She’d had therapy to cope.

Connell asked for the man to be discharged without conviction and for the court to permanently suppress the man’s name, saying it would affect his current and future employment prospects.

In sentencing, Judge Tania Warburton said the man’s actions were designed to embarrass, describing the material he’d shared as “extremely private”.

As a result, the woman suffered severe embarrassment in front of her family, and her sense of safety had been shattered.

“The relationship between you, the victim, and her brother had deteriorated, but it was a conscious, deliberate act by you to embarrass the victim”, the judge said.

She noted the man had one previous conviction for drink-driving, but had also undertaken almost 50 hours of community work, sought counselling to understand his actions, and expressed remorse.

Judge Warburton accepted evidence provided to her that there were risks to his mental health if he was named, and a conviction would affect his employment.

I hope to never see you back in court again

In agreeing to discharge the man without conviction and granting permanent name suppression, she said it was a “finely balanced decision”.

The judge said that while it was a serious incident, it was a one-off that was out of character and would have serious consequences for him.

She ordered that an emotional harm payment of $1000 be paid to each of his victims. She also suppressed the man’s occupation and the name of his employer.

“I hope never to see you again in court, I’m pretty sure I won’t”, she told the man at the end of the hearing.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently, she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.