A MAN who threatened to send out “explicit” revenge porn pictures of his victim because she owed him money has been sentenced to community work.
Kieran Coyle - who is one of the first men to be convicted under Scotland’s new revenge porn laws - met the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, through a dating website app.
Their relationship developed to the extent that they exchanged “explicit” pictures with each other.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard the relationship turned sour after the woman failed to repay money Coyle had lent her.
He then threatened to post a sexual image of the woman on social media if she did not pay him.
Coyle, 30, of Laird Street, Dundee, pleaded guilty to a charge under the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 committed on July 7 – just four days after the new law came into force.
The charge states that he threatened to disclose a photograph which showed the woman in an intimate situation and that Coyle threatened to share it via social media with the intent of causing her fear, alarm or distress.
Sheriff George Way imposed a community payback order of 100 hours' unpaid work.
He said: “There is a great deal of publicity concerning this type of behaviour and it is important that examples of it are punished.”
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said the news laws gave police and prosecutors “robust powers” to deal with the issue.
He said: “If someone is convicted of this type of offence they could spend up to five years in jail.”
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