Man gets 10 months for threatening to send personal pics

There were lots of public service adverts on tv from the gardaí last year to advise that even threatening to share images is now a crime.

Can't do the time, don't do the crime.....

Threatening to post intimate images on social media - 10 month sentence. Nolan.

Punching and repeatedly kicking a woman, dragging her out of a car by her hair, standing on her neck for a minute and threatening to kill her - 0 month sentence. Also Nolan.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2022/10/12/man-who-punched-kicked-ex-partner-in-savage-attack-gets-suspended-sentence/

he was pleading guilty despite the fact that the voice message which had been played to him by gardaí after his arrest had since been lost and could not have been used against him if the matter had gone to trial.

He needed better advice

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/man-jailed-for-threatening-to-post-intimate-images-of-former-partner-on-facebook-1625335.html

The man has 10 previous convictions, including public order, road traffic and criminal damage offences.

The man has a good work history, counsel said, but his alcohol and drug addiction issues “got the better of him”, adding the man was homeless for a number of years.

Ms Small outlined her client's personal circumstances, including a history of mental health issues and psychiatric in-patient treatment.

Cant help but feel if it was yer man in the ad he'd be walking away with a fine or a donation to the poor box

"Your honour , I said all this before the ads came on the telly reminding me it was wrong .

Thing is, your honour, I wouldn't have seen those ads anyhow as I don't watch RTE .

And I never would've been threatening if I had thought I might actually get prison time " .

The relevant act under which this prosecution was brought is The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, otherwise known as Coco's Act.

The sentence was at the lower end of the range laid out in legislation which allows for up to 7 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

https://www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/35bec-intimate-image-abuse/

In this case it appears to me that justice was metered ourtappropriately. We now have 'revenge porn' laws for this type of crime and they are warranted.

I do take the point though that the sentencing from our judiciary is deeply inconsistent. This sort of threat to release intimate photos can be disturbing for the victim and custodial sentencing serves a purpose to deter would be assailants. However, as one poster showed here, getting a suspended sentence for a prolonged violent attack is just not congruent with any form of justice. Given that the same judge handed out both of these sentences is ludicrously inconsistent.

Take the recent case of the Limerick hurler who beat someone to a pulp. Suspended sentence. Another farce.

Revenge porn is a nasty, vindictive crime and deserves the threat of a custodial sentence. But so too does violent assault. This is much like refereeing decisions in sport, all we ask for is consistency in the application of the laws.

The man was not demanding anything, he sent idiotic drunken messages, that does not warrant almost an entire year in prison.

He got what he deserved.

You clearly haven't considered the impact his "idiotic drunken messages" must have had upon the person he made the threats to.

Or you have, and just don't GAF?

The new advert all over social media should highlight this sentence.

The perps need to consider the impact this sort of sh$t can have on their targets, as noted above, victims of this sort of sh$t have committed suicide.

The same judge that hands out suspended sentences to people in possession of child porn. He really must have had a dislike for this guy.

And I think any of those people should also be prosecuted. Threatening to leak a person's private sensitive photos is psychological abuse. You can try to downplay but it's not acceptable.

And I think most people here agree that Nolan often gets it very wrong but in this case, it was the correct result. Doesn't mean we approve of his other sentences.

Blackmail, extortion, slander, libel..

There have always been legal and civil penalties for saying, writing, or threatening certain things.

I believe in freedom of speech actually, but that is not the same thing as freedom to slander, freedom to threaten, freedom to extort, freedom to blackmail...

not this case. Last year they announced they were bringing in a new hate crime bill, but when questioned they would not define what a 'hate crime' is. I find that very concerning. Hence I said they will tell you a hate crime when they see it.

Stop deflecting. This case has nothing to do with any proposed hate speech legislation.

Unless you think this guy was charged, convicted and sentenced on legislation that isn't in place yet. 🙄

@knucklehead6 based on this post, I don't think he thinks it should be a crime at all..

deflecting ? you are showing an ad from a campaign that came out after what he did.