Revenge porn poster to be sentenced

A revenge pornography offender who posted a series of lewd comments on an X-rated website next to pictures of women he knew will be sentenced today (Tuesday).

Unemployed Oliver Whiting, 37, took innocent pictures from two victims' social media accounts and placed them on a pornographic site for trolls to leave explicit messages and images.

Next to a picture of one woman he knew, former restaurant manager Whiting described her as a "cock-tease", a "slag" and a "whore".

The photograph he uploaded featured the woman's young child, Hastings Magistrates' Court in East Sussex heard last month.

Whiting also left a second young woman he knew "speechless and shocked" after she discovered he had posted a picture of her next to offensive comments he had written, the court was told.

Whiting, of Langdale Close, Eastbourne, pleaded guilty to 11 offences of making offensive postings, contrary to Section 127 (1) of the Communications Act 2003. Six offences related to one victim, and five to the other.

Whiting was charged after previously being cautioned for similar offences involving four other women. Whiting's defence lawyer, Noelle Magennis, said it seemed police looked into Whiting further following media coverage.

She said Whiting was "disgusted" with himself and his only explanation was that he was drinking excessively at a time when he was struggling to cope at work.

After Whiting had entered his guilty pleas, Sussex Police said that the case highlighted the need for society and police to understand the impact such crimes had on victims.

Detective Chief Superintendent Nick May said: "I pay tribute to the women who involved the media after the police had originally cautioned Whiting for offences.

"Whilst it was not always comfortable for us, they did highlight the need for society and police to understand the impact that such incidents can have on the victims."

Last month the Sentencing Council launched a consultation on proposed rules for judges and magistrates when punishing revenge porn perpetrators in England and Wales.

The document sets out circumstances that could attract a sentence at the upper end of the scale.

Behaviour calculated to cause maximum distress - such as sending images to a victim's family who are very religious, or to a young sibling - will fall into this category.