Base offence element intimate image abuse

Question

Being as revenge porn has been introduced into the SOA 2003 and there is now in existence a summary offence of sharing an intimate image without consent does that mean that theoretically the average person could be charged with said offence for sharing via WhatsApp etc some pictures of celebrities that may have been leaked images of the kind frequently in the news, or would it basically fail the public interest test?

Answer 1

You're asking whether, when intimate images of B have been previously shared, whether a new sharer (A) commits the offence of sharing an intimate image when they share the image further.

The fact that intimate images of B had previously been shared is only an exception when B had, or A reasonably believes that B had, consented to the previous sharing of those images. See s. 66C(3).

Of course, whether any offence is actually charged depends on the discretion of the Crown prosecutor, including consideration of whether the prosecution would be in the public interest. This involves consideration of all the circumstances and we cannot predict how this discretion will be exercised.