Stephen Bear's sentence sends warning to others that revenge porn 'ruins lives'
Stephen Bear’s prison sentence will show other perpetrators that revenge porn is “no laughing matter”, says a frontline volunteer helping victims.
Revenge Porn Helpline boss Sophie Mortimer praised a judge for jailing the disgraced reality star for secretly filming and sharing footage of Georgia Harrison.
Bear, 33, was jailed for 21 months at Chelmsford crown court on Friday for capturing footage of him and Ms Harrison having consensual sex in August 2020, and sharing it without her consent online.
A jury found him guilty in December of voyeurism and sharing intimate images without consent.
Ms Mortimer, who has been working with victims like Ms Harrison since 2016, said his crimes and brazen attitude during his trial showed “utter contempt” for the pain he inflicted.
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Bear was sentenced on Friday for his offences (Essex Police/PA)
Bear was told by a judge his offending had caused Georgia Harrison 'extensive humiliation' (Phil Harris)"He doesn’t seem to understand this is a serious crime," Ms Mortimer told The Mirror.
"He clearly doesn’t appreciate the seriousness of harm and if he did, he didn’t care.
"He treated her personhood and her rights to privacy with utter contempt. To treat her in the way that he did – that says far more about him."
Bear's bravado during his trial, Ms Mortimer said, showed a disturbing lack of remorse for the crimes he was accused of, feeding into a narrative that men can treat victims this way and bat away the consequences.
He raised eyebrows in December as he rolled up to his trial in a rented Rolls Royce whilst dressed in flamboyant outfits and posing with a cigar.
Bear pictured outside Chelmsford crown court with his partner Jessica Smith while he was being tried for voyeurism and 'revenge porn' crimes (PA)Ahead of his sentencing, he used Twitter to seek advice on his court attire and jokingly shared his mugshot writing, “this guy needs a holiday” as he asked for travel recommendations.
Appearing outside court on Friday, he refused to answer questions from reporters over whether he was remorseful, instead posing for a selfie with a fan.
"The harm caused to his victim really shouldn’t be understated and all credit to Georgia Harrison coming forward and speaking out,” Ms Mortimer added.
"A lot of people don’t want to come forward because it does drive people to go looking for that content and knowing that content is out there has such an impact."
Bear sang 'Lady in Red' to one reporter while dodging questions on whether he felt regret for his actions (PA)During Friday's sentencing, Georgia Harrison told how she suffered intense "humiliation" causing her severe panic attacks which, at one point, was leading to her being constantly hospitalised.
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The 28-year, who was praised by Judge Christopher Morgan for her "dignity and courage", said in a victim impact statement that Bear's lack of remorse after sharing the footage had been "soul-crushing" and hoped his sentence would set an example that such crimes came with "serious consequences".
Georgia Harrison said she'd endured 'two years of hell' since Bear shared intimate footage of her (PA)The Revenge Porn Helpline saw around 50 new cases every month when they started, which has now risen to 300 – around ten new victims coming forward every day.
Women are around two thirds of their clients, with each victim reporting an average of 12-13 images shared.
"One of our clients has 150 images which have been circulated and they are constantly being re-uploaded and, for her, it just never goes away.
"That is hugely debilitating for her. People download this and it can be forever re-shared – the internet is like a Pandora's box."
Stephen Bear refused to answer questions over whether he felt remorse outside court, and instead posed for a selfie with a fan and spoke of wanting 'justice' (PA)Between April 2020 and June 2022, there were 1,048 prosecutions for revenge porn, relating to 825 cases.
A survey by the Crown Prosecution Service last year found that, in a random sample of 50 cases, 92% involved perpetrators who were former partners of the victim.
Just 3% of all incidents reported to the police however resulted in charges, a Sunday People investigation found last year.
Ms Mortimer said Bear's jail time will "shift the narrative" that crimes like revenge porn are "something to laugh about" and that it’s "not that important in the grand scheme of things".
"We've had some clients for the full seven years simply because, once that content is out there, it's so hard to get rid of. That's why this is such a serious offence.
"This is not just about boyfriends taking your pictures – it ruins lives."
The Revenge Porn Helpline can be contacted by anyone who believes they have been a victim on 0345 6000 459, with Sophie's team having successfully seen 250k of 300k reported images removed since 2016.
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