Reality TV star Stephen Bear jailed for posting 'revenge porn'
courtesy of Essex Police
Reality TV star Stephen Bear has been sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment today for voyeurism and two counts of "revenge porn".
He was convicted on 13 December following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. His victim, Georgia Harrison, waived her right to anonymity.
Hannah von Dadelszen, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England said:
“I want to commend Georgia Harrison for the bravery and determination she has shown throughout this case.
“By contrast, Stephen Bear showed a complete lack of remorse by never accepting responsibility for his abusive behaviour, even going so far as to place the blame on Ms Harrison.
“Although she lives a public life, Georgia Harrison has the right to privacy. But that was taken away by Bear to make money in the most egregious way.
“Whether or not sex is consensual, it is a crime to share or threaten to share sexual images without consent to cause distress. This is a serious offence which has a lifelong impact on victims. Those like Bear who use devices to share photos or videos in this way or threaten to do so can expect to be prosecuted.
“We want to encourage victims to come forward, safe in the knowledge they can have special measures put in place when appearing in court, like giving evidence from behind a screen and that we can apply to the court for lifelong anonymity.”
Notes to editors
- Stephen Bear (DOB 15/01/1990) was convicted for:
- Voyeurism, contrary to section 67(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (02/08/2020). This relates to CCTV filming.
- Disclosing private sexual photograph or film, contrary to Section 33(1) Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (02/08/2020). This relates to sending the video via WhatsApp.
- Disclosing private sexual photograph or film, contrary to Section 33(1) Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (08/11/2020). This relates to the video being posted on OnlyFans.
- The act of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress - referred to as ‘revenge porn’ - has been illegal in England and Wales since 2015. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 amended legislation in June 2021 to extend the existing offence to include the specific act of threatening to disclose this type of material.
- The CPS charged 1,048 revenge porn offences across 825 cases between April 2020 and June 2022.
- Even when the victim is unable to support a prosecution and if it is in the public interest to do so, CPS prosecutors will draw on all other available evidence, such as 999 calls, CCTV, police body-worn camera footage, and mobile phone data to build a robust case against perpetrators.