An Angus man created fake profiles online and used them to distribute explicit files of women without their consent or knowledge.
Jordan Tasker admitted two revenge porn charges when he appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court.
The 30-year-old, from Arbroath, used Instagram and dating site Scout to engage in sexual chat with men while pretending to be a woman he had intimate photos of.
He also distributed videos of another woman performing a sex act without her knowing.
His sordid bid to “get back, hurt her and get even” was foiled when the recipients tracked down and alerted the woman Tasker was posing as online.
Tasker was told his actions were “extremely distasteful” as he was sentenced to unpaid work and supervision.
Revenge porn plot
Fiscal depute Stephanie Hendry explained that Tasker’s primary target received a message on Instagram on March 27 last year.
The man asked her if she had another Instagram account as someone using her name had been messaging him.
She asked Tasker if he was responsible and he confessed.
But the woman received another message from a different man on May 7.
The man said an account had sent him a photo of her wearing an almost see-through pink crop top.
She knew the photo immediately and knew that Tasker was the only other person who had it.
After messaging Tasker, the woman was told the account had been deleted.
Other woman
But the next day, she received another message from a different man.
She explained to him that she didn’t know who he was.
The man told her he’d been sent a video of someone performing a sex act and asked if it had been sent by her.
She informed him she wasn’t responsible.
After being forwarded the video, she immediately recognised the woman.
At a later date, she alerted the woman to what had happened.
Tasker’s primary victim received yet another message on Instagram on June 6 from a man who claimed to have been chatting with her on dating site Scout.
He sent her screenshots of the chat, which included Tasker pretending to be her and saying: “Sorry about the pic of me in my pyjamas.”
Arrested
Tasker was arrested and interviewed by police.
Ms Hendry said: “He fully admitted setting up the Instagram account.”
He told officers it was a bid to “get back, hurt her and get even.”
In the dock, he admitted two revenge porn charges.
Tasker, of St Murdoch’s Crescent, admitted that he repeatedly shared an intimate photo of the first woman on social media with multiple people between December 2021 and June 2022.
He also pled guilty to disclosing a film of the other woman which showed her engaging in a sexual act in 2022.
He admitted his actions were reckless or intended to cause fear, alarm or distress.
Punishment
Solicitor Nick Whelan said: “He fully co-operated.
“In terms of his motivation, it’s difficult to tell at this stage exactly what his motivation was.
“He’s got one previous conviction.
“He’s not working at present.”
Sheriff Krista Johnston placed Tasker under supervision for a year.
The sheriff also ordered him to complete 125 hours of unpaid work in six months.
She said: “I find this offence extremely distasteful.
“It must have been a horrible experience for the complainers to realise that this kind of material had been put out for public consumption by you.
“I take into account you’re 30. You’ve got one previous conviction.
“Against that background, I’m persuaded not to send you to jail today.”
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