Reality TV star Stephen Bear described as a 'self-obsessed show off' in court
Danny Halpin PA
Reality TV star Stephen Bear is a “self-obsessed show-off” prepared to broadcast details of women’s “private sexual lives” to boost his own fame, money and notoriety, a court has been told.
The 32-year-old is accused of filming himself and Georgia Harrison (27) having sex in his garden in August 2020 before sharing it on WhatsApp and posting it on subscription site OnlyFans.
Ms Harrison says she never gave consent for the video to be shared and is seeking civil compensation alongside a criminal trial.
She says she discovered the video was online in early December 2020, and had to hire someone to get it removed from porn sites.
Bear denies two counts of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films.
During her closing speech to the jury, Jacqueline Carey KC said the former Ex on the Beach star bragged from the witness stand about sleeping with models Jemma Lucy and Chloe Khan and fellow TV personality Lauren Goodger.
She said: “He broadcast their private sexual lives in open court and gave no thought to their privacy at all. If it gets him fame, money, notoriety or trending on Twitter he will say whatever he wants, he will do whatever he wants and distribute whatever he wants.
“The prosecution are not asking you to convict Stephen Bear because he sleeps with women and doesn’t call them back. As ungentlemanly as it is, that is not what he is charged with.
“He is not charged with being a self-obsessed show-off. The prosecution are asking you to convict him because the evidence proves he is guilty.”
During the trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, jurors heard how Bear has earned £40,000 from OnlyFans and more than £2,000 from the video in question.
Bear was arrested after returning from Dubai in January 2021. Ms Carey said that he spent five minutes in the toilet of the aeroplane before being taken into police custody.
Officers searching his suitcase and another bearing his brother’s name, Robert Bear, said they could not find a phone or any other electronic device.
Bear denied travelling with his brother and during a search at the police station officers found a sim card key in his joggers.
He also claimed to police that his Instagram account had been hacked, but he was unwilling to answer any specific questions and his phone has never been recovered since his arrest.
Ms Carey told jurors that Bear upped his OnlyFans subscription price after it began to attract attention from people talking about the video online, increasing it from $7 to $50 before logging in 90 minutes later to reduce it to $20.
She said: “The suggestion that his account was hacked at all is palpable nonsense. He was the only person who had access by December 7th.
“And he was the only one to profit from the subscription hike. By December 7th, the rumour mill was going.
“He was getting traction on social media, a lot of people were looking at him. That is why he put the price up, so he could make a quick buck.”
Gemma Rose, defending Bear, told the jury: “You may not agree with Mr Bear’s views or his work online, but this is not a court of morals. You must judge the case on the evidence that is put before you.
“He has tried to assist the best he can in the circumstances. You may think, what more can he do? Mr Bear cannot give you the magic answers.
“He received around £40,000 from OnlyFans but in respect of that video OnlyFans state the payment was $2,000.
“What motivation is there to upload that video when clearly he made money from other content?
“You cannot be sure that Mr Bear uploaded that video or instructed anyone to upload it.”
The trial continues.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/, or visit Rape Crisis Help.
In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
