Woman tells court ex-boyfriend humiliated her by posting intimate photos of her online

Gordon Deegan

A Co Clare woman has broken down in tears in court after saying that her ex-boyfriend has shamed her and humiliated her by posting intimate photos of her on fake social media profile accounts he created.

At the Family Law Court in Ennis, the office worker said that “I couldn’t leave the house” after the pictures were posted on the various fake social media profiles for her on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

The woman said that her ex-boyfriend’s “only goal is to ruin my life”.

In this case, Judge Adrian Harris granted the woman a five-year Safety Order under the Domestic Violence Act against her ex-boyfriend.

Solicitor, Shíofra Hassett, for the woman said that the man’s actions “made you so afraid after the end of relationship you didn’t go into the office for a significant period of time”.

In response, the woman said as a result of the intimate pictures her ex-boyfriend posted on the fake social media accounts “I felt extremely paranoid. I felt humiliated, and I felt shamed.”

In tears in the witness box, the woman said, “A lot of people saw the social media profiles - when you search my name up on social media, these profiles do show up”.

She said, “I have had really bad anxiety because of all of this.”

As part of the harassment committed by the man against the woman, she said that on his own personal TikTok account, "he has posted my own LinkedIn profile picture, he has posted the Eircode of my company, the address of my company, and the name of my company”.

The woman agreed with her solicitor, Ms Hassett, when she said that “the fake social media profiles displayed photos of you of an intimate nature and they would be photos you shared with the man during the course of your relationship”.

Ms Hassett said that her client has had to take steps to have the fake social media profiles taken down.

The woman said that the most recent fake social media account was created last month.

Ms Hassett said that the woman has previously secured a temporary Protection Order against her ex-boyfriend, and there have been breaches of the Protection Order since it was put in place last year.

The woman said that there were also two instances of the man physically assaulting her.

She said that in one incident last June, when they were staying in a hotel, “I was in the shower and he just came in and he asked me about other men, making false accusations, and he just punched me while I was in the shower”.

She said that when they broke up, "he physically attacked me, pulled my hair, pushed me, and he also hit me".

Ms Hassett said that since the breakdown in the relationship, the man has contacted her client by email even after the Protection Order was in place.

She said her client has reported all of these unwanted emails to An Garda Siochána and they are investigating the matter.

Ms Hassett said that the gardaí are aware that the man may have left the jurisdiction, and Gardaí are in contact with Interpol concerning the man.

The man posting the intimate images online of his ex-girlfriend also comes under Coco’s Law, which is formally known as the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 202,0 which criminalises the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

In the district court, penalties for the Coco’s Law offence can be up to one year in prison on conviction, and before the circuit court, a 14-year prison term can apply on conviction.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.