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Revenge Porn Offence Lawyers in Queensland 2022
The State of Queensland brought new legislation into effect in February 2019, which makes it a criminal offence for anyone to distribute an intimate image of another person without their consent in a way that causes that person distress.
More colloquially known as ‘revenge porn’, the legislation expressly states that any person under the age of 16 is legally incapable of giving consent. The statute also provides that it does not matter whether the alleged offender intended to cause distress; only that the person experienced distress as a result of the non-consensual sharing of the intimate image.
Covered by section 223 of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld), if found guilty of such a crime, there is the potential for a maximum imprisonment term of 3 years to apply. There are several mitigating and aggravating factors that a court will be required to consider, such as the circumstances surrounding the intimate image distribution, the relationship between the parties and the interference with a person’s right to privacy. If it can be proved that the sharer of the image distributed the material for a genuine artistic, educational, legal, medical, scientific or public benefit purposes, this will serve as a defence to the alleged offence. If you are facing criminal revenge porn offences, it is vital that legal advice is sought as soon as possible so that a defence can be put together promptly.
Smith Criminal Law are the Sunshine Coast’s most trusted criminal lawyers. We understand that many complex charges, such as that of distribution of intimate images, can have several moving parts and our team are both skilled and experienced enough to comb through evidence and apply the appropriate laws. We’ll work diligently and tenaciously to afford you your right to justice. Contact our office today.