Telford man in court over 'revenge porn' photo of his ex

Darren Lindop of Haygate Road, Wellington, uploaded the picture showing the victim putting on her underwear as his cover photo on the social networking site, Telford Magistrates Court heard.

Magistrates also handed the 43-year-old a 24-month community order.

Mr Stephen Oldham, prosecuting, said the pair had been in an on and off relationship but had since split up.

He said the victim had been out drinking with friends on October 24 and had been exchanging text messages with Lindop while in a taxi on her way home.

The court heard he asked if she would be dropped off at his home, but she refused and the text messages then got "nasty".

Mr Oldham said the following morning she logged on to Facebook and became "extremely distressed" after seeing the naked picture of herself on his Facebook page.

He said Lindop, of Haygate Road in Wellington, had 500 friends on Facebook who could have seen the image, adding: "There was a potential for that photo to be shared all over the world."

She asked Lindop to take the photo down, which he agreed to do, and Lindop was later arrested.

Mr Oldham said uploading the picture had effectively been "revenge" for the argument they had.

Lindop admitted disclosing a private sexual photo with intent to cause distress.

Mr John McMillan, for Lindop, said: "He is ashamed of what he did. He knows he shouldn't have done it."

Ms Anna Turner, chair of the bench of magistrates, told Lindop: "This is a serious offence.

"There's a serious breach of trust. You caused serious distress.

"However, we have heard you are ashamed of what you have done."

In addition to the 24-month community order, Lindop was also ordered to pay £135 costs, £150 criminal court charge, £60 victim surcharge and £50 fine.

He was also given a restraining order, until further notice, forbidding him from having any further contact with the victim or to post any images of her online.