Must pay compensation for revenge porn threat

At Lanark Sheriff Court last Thursday Andrew Gray, 26, appeared for sentence having previously admitted to having, on December 10 last year, sent the woman text messages that were of a grossly offensive or menacing nature in that he repeatedly threatened to post a personal video of her on the internet.

The court earlier heard that Gray and the woman had exchanged messages with each other on the Tinder dating site and she had sent the compromising video; after actually meeting, she decided to end the relationship. It was then Gray sent her a series of messages over nine hours on December 10, threatening to send the video to her friends unless she apologised to him for some perceived insult. Unable to dissuade or pacify him, she called the police.

On Thursday Sheriff Nikola Stewart was scathing in her remarks to Gray as he stood in the dock, remarking that he was lucky his case was not coming up in a few months time when new Scottish Government legislation would have made his jailing almost inevitable.

She told him: “She sent you images for your eyes only and you betrayed that trust. This was the worst kind of coertion. It was simply disgraceful.”

She ordered Gray, of Barshaw Drive, Paisley, to pay the woman £500 compensation and fined him £300.