A Perth man who sent “revenge porn” to his victim’s mother during a stalking campaign has been jailed for two months.
Kyle Sandilands sent the naked image and also threatened the 17-year-old’s stepfather during a campaign of harassment against the teenager.
Sandilands, 22, posted a graphic image of the girl to her mother’s mobile phone while hurling abuse at her and members of her family.
Sandilands, from Perth, admitted engaging in a course of conduct which caused the girl fear or alarm between April 20 and May 6 2018.
He admitted sending her messages, throwing eggs at her window, and sending a sexual image of the teenager to her mother’s mobile phone.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told Perth Sheriff Court that Sandilands knew the girl and had obtained an explicit photo of her with her consent.
Sandilands became jealous
However, he became jealous of her forming a relationship with another person and began to bombard her with foul and abusive messages.
He sent her the photograph with a warning it was going to be distributed further afield. The girl’s mother challenged Sandilands and warned him to stop.
Sandilands then sent her the picture and carried on the abuse when he was confronted by the girl’s stepfather.
The police were contacted when Sandilands appeared at the girl’s home and threw eggs at her window, followed by a message taunting her about what he had done.
Sheriff: ‘The problem which faces people of your age….is not one which faced people of my generation’
Sandilands’ conviction prompted a sheriff to warn about the dangers to young people of taking to social media channels while they were upset and emotional.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said the ease of posting abuse online as an instant reaction to a break-up was creating a spike in stalking crimes and could have devastating consequences for both victim and accused.
He said: “This offence arises because of the ease with which you can do this. I wish this message would get through.
“You are now labelled on your record as a stalker. There is no balance in the way society looks at these things.
“The problem which faces people of your age – and I don’t say that in a condescending way – is not one which faced people of my generation.
“When young people split up there are always a mix of emotions – sometimes bitterness because they are moving on to someone else and there’s a feeling of betrayal.
“The problem your generation has is that in the palm of your hand you have the means to express your betrayal in an instantaneous and graphic way, as you did.
“That is something that people of my generation simply didn’t have the means to do.
“It is further exacerbated because there are now the means of taking photographs and passing them on, however inherently mystifying it might be for someone of my age.
“You were in your teens and therefore you don’t think of the consequences. You embark on this behaviour without thinking for one moment.
“It is an offence that is very serious because of the potential consequences which might have occurred for your former girlfriend. Equally, it has serious consequences for you.
“If only that got understood, and people realised that, then maybe there would be a reduction in this sort of behaviour.”
Sandilands had initially been told to complete 220 hours unpaid work, but admitted failing to complete the order, and was jailed on Thursday for two months.
