By The Guardian (World News) | Created at 2024-10-21 15:00:15 | Updated at 2024-10-21 21:02:32
6 hours ago
A woman who posted sexual images of her father’s former lover on an escort site has been jailed for three years by a judge who described it as “vindictive, selfish and vengeful offending”.
Eleanor Brown, 24, had held a deep-seated grudge against the victim since she was a child, after her father had a short-lived affair with the woman in 2012, Leeds crown court heard.
Judge Menary said Brown’s attitude after she was arrested showed she was “utterly, utterly unapologetic”, “totally devoid of any moral compass whatsoever” and that her “lack of remorse was staggering”.
The court heard how Brown’s father, Geoff, had an affair with a woman when they were both police officers, but it ended and both of them stayed with their spouses.
Ten years later, the defendant noticed that the woman’s husband had started a business and she began posting offensive messages on his Facebook page, calling his wife a “home-wrecking slag” and a “tramp”.
Brown then sent the husband sexual images of his wife before creating a “kinky copper” fake profile on an escorting and sex services website, also featuring intimate photographs.
Judge Menary said one of the most “egregious and vindicative” aspects of the case was that Brown also contacted the woman’s daughter, who did not know about the affair. Brown told her: “I will make sure your mum is never allowed to forget what she did to my family,” and added: “Wherever she goes, her photos will remain and follow her.”
The court heard how Brown “conspired” with her sister, Sophie, and her mother, Sarah – also both ex-police officers – to create the fake profile.
The webpage included the mobile number of the husband, who was then bombarded with texts and calls after it went live.
In a victim personal statement read in court, the woman said that to describe her as feeling “violated” would be an “understatement”.
She was “sickened” that the images were posted on a public website and shared for the sexual gratification of strangers, she said.
The woman said: “I’m finding it difficult to believe a woman would do that to another woman.”
She also said she was “fearful of what [Brown] is capable of”.
Harry Crowson, defending, said Brown had been provided with the photographs by her mother and he said she was “egged on by her family”.
The barrister said his client had been severely traumatised by the events of 2012, when she was shown the images as a teenager for reasons the judge said had never been properly explained.
Brown, of Morley, Leeds, admitted halfway through her trial earlier this year to two counts of disclosing private images.
The woman and her husband had already given evidence by the time the defendant changed her pleas. On Friday, Judge Menary said this was the “ultimate act of brinkmanship” on Brown’s part and was a “very serious aggravating feature” in the case. Because of this, he gave Brown no credit for her guilty pleas.
