A man who posted ‘revenge porn’ pictures of his girlfriend as a way of threatening her to pick up her phone has been jailed.
Shane Boyton, of College Close, Holbeach, Spalding, Lincolnshire, even used a winch from a recovery truck in a bid to get the woman to open her front door.
The 41-year-old moved in with the woman earlier this year but after only a few days of living together in Peterborough, things turned sour.
On the afternoon of March 19, Boyton became aggressive with the woman after arguing with his friend.
The woman asked him to leave which he did, but Boyton returned 10 minutes later in a recovery truck.
He attached a winch to the front door and tried to open the door whilst shouting that he wanted his stuff.
The woman asked him to come back later when he was calmer. Boyton managed to pull the letterbox off the door using the winch before leaving, only to return again a few minutes later in a white Transit van.
Boyton used the van to hit the front door of the house. He then got out of the van and picked up a wooden table leg from the front garden, which he used to hit the front window of the house.
Issues between the pair flared up again on March 30 when they argued about the broken window.
Boyton then messaged the woman implying he didn’t want to be with her anymore – to which the woman accepted this, blocked him on social media and told him to “take care.”
However, Boyton responded to this by constantly phoning her before adding: “Pick up the phone or people will start getting pictures of you.”
The woman then received messages from her friends who had received pictures of her of a sexual nature.
This prompted her to access Boyton’s Facebook page which she had set up for him, delete the photos and change the password to stop him logging back in.
Boyton was subsequently arrested on April 1. In police interview he claimed to have used the recovery truck to “pull a tree in the front garden.”
He also admitted using the Transit van to hit the woman’s house, though argued it was a wall instead of the front door and that it was not intentional.
Boyton initially denied posting private sexual photographs of the woman on social media and claimed he had no access to the account.
However, he later pleaded guilty to criminal damage and disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress.
Boyton admitted the offences on Wednesday (July 1) and was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on the same day, where he was handed 20 weeks in prison.
DC Mat Belfitt, who investigated, said: “The level of harm caused by sharing private sexual photographs should not be underestimated, especially if they are shared by someone you know or trust.
“While this is a fairly rare charge it is incredibly serious, and I hope this case highlights how severely the courts and police take offences of this nature.
“The overall course of events against this woman were, no doubt, very frightening and I hope she is able to get some closure now Boyton is behind bars.”
Anyone who believes private sexual photographs of themselves have been shared without their consent is urged to report this to police online or call 101.
