An MMA fighter who “tormented” a Havering woman with revenge porn has avoided a prison sentence.
Paul Webster, 36, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday (March 23) after pleading guilty to sending two intimate sexual images of his ex to a member of her family, and saying he would hurt one of her relatives.
The court heard how after she brought their brief relationship to an end, Webster sent the images to a family member and threatened to send them to another.
In a victim personal statement, Webster's ex said: "He tormented me with these images and videos, sometimes claiming that he had deleted them, and after me thanking him and crying with relief then later sending me a message laughing at me and displaying that he still had them in his possession.
"He gradually broke down my mental state over a period of time until a point that I felt so much shame about myself that I felt I wasn’t worthy of anything or anyone. That the world would be a better place if I were no longer in it."
Later, Webster sent a malicious text saying he would "batter" one of her relatives.
She said she was left a shadow of the person she once was and was frightened to leave her home.
Webster was arrested in September 2019, then in January 2023 he pleaded guilty to two charges of disclosing private sexual images and one charge of malicious communications.
After he pleaded guilty, his ex said: "My hope is that his conviction prevents even just one more person from being subjected to the horror that I went through, and continue to go through."
The court heard that Webster, from Welwyn Garden City, had 16 previous convictions for 25 offences - including a domestic assault on an ex-partner in 2008.
Webster’s legal representative said his client had changed since he committed these crimes and had kept out of trouble since 2019.
Judge Jeremy Benson told Webster his actions had been "nasty and humiliating", causing lasting psychological harm to his victim.
Webster was given a 42 week custodial sentence, suspended for two years meaning he will not see a prison cell unless he commits another crime during that time.
After the sentencing, his victim told the Romford Recorder the case will impact her for the rest of her life.
She added that the sentence does not reflect the harm inflicted upon her though she does not blame the judge, who is bound by the law and the sentencing guidelines.
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