Revenge porn victims will feel 'abandoned,' critics warn as less than half of reported crimes end up in court
Fewer than half of revenge porn cases reported to the police have ended up in Scotland's courts.
And of those that are prosecuted, only a tiny proportion have resulted in a custodial sentence, figures obtained by The Scottish Mail on Sunday show.
In the last full year, just two people were imprisoned for the crime of intimate image abuse, despite there being nearly 800 reports to police.
In 2023-24, there were 781 reports made to Police Scotland regarding suspects threatening to or disclosing intimate images.
In the previous year, the figure was 805 and in the year before that it was 912. However, the number of charges reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for those same years was 215, 228 and 312, respectively.
Of the 215 charges reported in 2023-24 under the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) 2016 Act, 51 people were convicted, 57 are ongoing, and 20 were marked 'no further action'.
In the same period, four people were admonished – effectively let off with a warning – 34 were given a community payback order, three had to pay compensation, five were fined, one was put under a non-harassment order and two were given a restriction of liberty order. Only one was imprisoned, to add to the single criminal jailed in 2022-23.
The revelation comes as the Revenge Porn Helpline provided support in more than 22,000 cases in 2024 compared with 18,000 in the previous year, following a 20 per cent rise in demand from victims across the UK.
Helpline manager Sophie Mortimer said: 'Our data continuously highlights that intimate image abuse is still one of the most significant and concerning digital harms affecting adults right now.
'The rise in cases, the low levels of conviction and the persistent difficulties and gaps within legislation demonstrate that existing measures are insufficient.'
Scottish Conservative spokeswoman for victims Sharon Dowey said: 'Revenge porn is a horrendous crime.
'It is deeply alarming that such a small number of cases are either being brought to court or ending up with offenders being convicted.
'Victims will rightly feel abandoned and question whether it was worth reporting these crimes.
'It is vital that SNP Ministers heed these damning figures.'
Scotland's procurator fiscal for domestic abuse, Emma Forbes, said: 'Each year between 2021 and 2024, we took action in at least 86 per cent of charges received.
'We take reports of alleged abuse seriously and will take the appropriate prosecutorial action where there is sufficient evidence, and it is in the public interest to do so.' Detective Inspector Alasdair Penny said: 'Police are experiencing an increase in the number of revenge porn-related incidents being reported and are encouraged that people are more confident in coming forward.
'Every report is investigated thoroughly, and we will do all we can to gather available evidence. Where criminality is established, we will find those responsible and bring them to justice.'
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'The investigation of crime is an independent operational matter for Police Scotland and prosecutions are an independent matter for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Travis Decker manhunt continues in remote Washington mountain trail as police vow to 'not give up'
The manhunt for killer dad Travis Decker continues, Washington State cops said today – despite raising hopes of a swift end to the search last night. Decker has been on the lam for 12 days and is charged with three counts of aggravated murder after the bodies of his three daughters Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia, five, were found at a woodland campsite on June 2. Chalon County Sheriff Mike Morrison said during the press conference the search will continue with the help of Border Patrol and they will 'not give up' on the search for Decker. He did, however, say 'tactics would change' and warned that all it would take would be 'one mistake' for him to be caught. Former soldier Decker has spent the past two weeks hiding out in the Wenatchee Mountains – a rugged stretch of peaks that stretch for 50 miles across central Washington State. Exclusive Daily Mail photos show exactly how challenging the search has been, with thick forest and soaring peaks of up to 9,500ft dominating the area. Complicating the search is the fact that Decker, a former soldier, knows the area intimately and has ample experience of living rough – once spending two months living off grid in the backwoods. Photos released by the Chalon County Sheriff's Office show searchers battling through the mountainous terrain – with cops pictured searching the snowy flanks of Mount Stuart and being choppered to mountain meadows hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Until Monday, Decker had not been seen since vanishing with the three children following a scheduled custody visit on May 30. Their mother Whitney, 35, called the cops after he failed to return with the girls and could not be reached by phone. Chelan County Sheriff's Office deputies found the girls' bodies about 75 to 100 yards from Decker's truck at a campsite. Police believe the girls died from asphyxiation and reported that their wrists were zip-tied, court documents said Three days later, the children were found suffocated at the remote Rock Island Campground near Leavenworth, with plastic bags over their heads and bound with zip ties. Police said Decker's 2017 GMC truck was also found at the scene and had two bloody handprints on the back gate. Shortly after, a no-bail arrest warrant was issued for Decker, charging him with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping. On Monday, cops revealed they were finally closing in on the alleged killer, saying in a statement that a tip from a hiker had led to a breakthrough. 'Our office recently received a tip from a hiking party who stated they spotted a lone hiker in the Enchantments area who appeared to be ill-prepared for trail and weather conditions and appeared to be avoiding others,' the statement said. 'Tracking teams immediately acted upon the information and spotted a lone, off-trail hiker from a helicopter near Colchuck Lake who ran from sight as the helicopter passed.' An alert was later issued to residents in the Ingalls Creek and the Valley High communities – warning them to lock up their homes and vehicles and be on the lookout for Decker. 'Residents and visitors are urged to secure homes and vehicles, remain vigilant, and report any suspicious activity to 911,' an alert said. 'A heightened law enforcement presence will persist as a precautionary measure.' That alert was lifted Wednesday morning at 11.30am, while the police presence in the area was noticeably diminished when the Daily Mail visited the same day. A plane that cops had been using to scour the area had also departed – traveling to an airport in state capital Olympia, a three-hour flight away. The bearded dad-of-three is a former soldier who joined the Army 2013. He served in Afghanistan before transferring to the Washington National Guard in 2021. He was a full-time member of the Guard until 2023 or 2024, when he switched to part-time. Decker stopped attending mandatory monthly drills a little over a year ago, and the Guard was in the process of a disciplinary discharge. According to ex-wife Whitney, he has been suffering from mental health issues in recent years and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Still, Whitney told police she didn't believe Decker was dangerous and said he loved his daughters. She said the girls had a 'good relationship with Decker and enjoy their time with him,' and noted that he had never failed to return the girls before, according to a police affidavit. Whitney added that when Decker went to pick up the girls for the visit on Friday, he was 'quieter than usual' which was 'out of character' for him. He had also allegedly been talking about getting rid of his dog due to housing and financial struggles. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail in an interview published earlier today, Decker's older brother Thomas said the alleged killer is not the man he knew – and saw just a week before the murders. 'The guy on the wanted poster for murdering my three nieces is not the brother I know,' said Thomas. 'I can't even comprehend what is going on. 'I am in complete shock that he would do something like this. He loves his daughters – at least I thought he did. And Whitney is devastated beyond belief.'
The Courier
2 hours ago
- The Courier
Perth road closed after car lands on roof
A road in Perth has been closed after a car landed on its roof. Glengarry Road has been taped off and police officers remain at the scene after a white Vauxhall Mokka flipped onto its roof. The crash happened just before 8pm. A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: 'We received the call at 7.56pm to assist police with a crash. 'One appliance was dispatched from Perth Fire Station. 'We made the vehicle safe before the stop message came at 8.18pm.' An eyewitness said: 'It seems to have hit the parked Ford Fiesta on the road and flipped.' A resident on Glengarry Road added: 'I didn't see the crash but my security cameras on the house captured it in picture frames. 'It happened just before 8pm. 'You can see the skid marks on the road too. 'We have no clue how it landed on its roof.' It is not yet known if anyone was injured in the crash. Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service have been contacted for comment.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Sheku Bayoh: Hearing to decide whether chair should resign begins
A former judge who is chairing a £50m public inquiry into the death of a man in police custody will hear arguments on Thursday on whether he should step down or see the job Scottish Police Federation has accused Lord Bracadale of holding "secret" meetings with the family of Sheku Bayoh, who died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy in organisation which represents rank and file officers believes the five meetings could lead to "perceived bias" and has called for him to "recuse" Bracadale has been leading the inquiry since 2020 and ordered the hearing to allow core participants to make submissions on his conduct. If Lord Bracadale decides to stay in post, the federation has said it will seek a judicial departure and the search for a last minute replacement after five years of work would delay the inquiry's findings by many has already cost the public purse £24.8m, with an additional £24.3m spent by Police Scotland, including £17.3m of legal stage is now set for a robust exchange of legal arguments between senior lawyers. Roddy Dunlop KC, dean of the Faculty of Advocates, will represent the police federation and two of the officers involved in the incident which ended with Mr Bayoh's police federation has said that none of the other core participants were made aware that Lord Bracadale was meeting the family and the details of what was said have not been federation's general secretary David Kennedy has said it has lost confidence in the inquiry because not all core participants were being treated Bayoh family's solicitor Aamer Anwar has described the federation's actions as "a pathetic and desperate attempt to sabotage the inquiry" at the 11th claimed the hearing could cost taxpayers "in excess of a million pounds" in fees for "police lawyers." Competing arguments One of England's top barristers, Jason Beer KC, has been brought in as senior counsel for the inquiry is expected to argue that Lord Bracadale's actions were procedurally appropriate because of the importance of maintaining the family's prosecution service, the Crown Office, will state its position, along with Police Scotland, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and the Commission for Racial Equality and representing other police officers involved in the case will also have the opportunity to have their hearing is scheduled to last two days, with Lord Bracadale issuing his decision at a later inquiry has been examining what happened before and during the death of Sheku Bayou, who died in police custody. It has been looking at how the police dealt with the aftermath, the investigation into Mr Bayoh's death and whether race was a of the public called the police after Mr Bayoh was spotted carrying a knife and behaving erratically in the streets of Kirkcaldy on May 3, wasn't carrying the knife when officers arrived at the scene but a violent confrontation followed, with up to six officers restraining the 31-year-old on the father-of-two lost consciousness and later died in hospital.
