Woman who shared nude photos of dad's lover jailed

A woman who posted naked photographs of her father's former mistress on an escort site as an act of "revenge" has been jailed for three years.

Eleanor Brown set up a fake profile of the woman on the website, her trial heard, which led to the victim's husband being bombarded with calls and messages.

Brown, 24, of Peel Street in Morley, had initially denied two counts of disclosing private photographs without consent, but pleaded guilty to both charges part way through her trial.

In a statement read out at Leeds Crown Court, the victim said she lived in "constant fear" of the photos resurfacing.

The trial heard Brown's father had an extra-marital affair with the woman in the early 2010s, which was then discovered years later by her while she was a teenager.

In August 2022, Brown posted derogatory and abusive messages about the woman on an online profile promoting the victim's husband's business.

When this did not provoke the "reaction she wanted", she then set up a profile of the woman on an escort site alongside her husband's phone number, the court heard.

The hearing was told the victim's husband was bombarded with eight phone calls and 13 texts within half an hour of the advert being posted.

Messages uncovered during the subsequent police investigation showed Brown was "egged on" by both her sister Sophie, who was a serving police officer at the time, and her mother, the court was told, though neither were charged over their actions.

Sophie Brown was however found to have committed gross misconduct at a police hearing in April for having "encouraged" her sister's actions.

The misconduct panel ruled she would have been sacked had she not already resigned.

Eleanor Brown also contacted the daughter of the victim and her husband, who had not been aware of the affair, and sent her a "lengthy and vindictive" message the sentencing heard.

She told her she would never "allow her to forget" what her mother had done "to my family".

A victim impact statement read out on the woman's behalf told how she felt "anxious and nauseous" to this day.

"The thought of my pictures being used by a complete stranger sickens me," she said.

"I find it hard to believe a woman would do this to another woman. To say I feel violated is an understatement."

Mitigating for Brown, Harry Crowson said, while there was "every instinct to believe she was entirely undeserving of sympathy", her teenage years had been deeply affected by the discovery of the affair.

He added: "She needs to stop fighting a battle that isn't hers. She has, at the age of 24, experienced trauma far outstripping her age."

Judge Alexander Menary said Brown's actions had been "vindictive, selfish and vengeful" and told her that she had "relished the obvious discomfort" the offending had caused.

The judge said her decision to initially deny the offences had been an "act of brinkmanship", forcing the victim and her husband to go through the stress of giving evidence at trial.

Sentencing her to consecutive terms of two and one years for each of the charges, Judge Menary told her: "Your lack of remorse is staggering."

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