Fewer than half of Scots revenge porn criminals being caught
23 February 2018, 07:54 | Updated: 23 February 2018, 12:05
Capital has discovered the majority of revenge porn criminals in Scotland are getting away with it.
A new law tackling the crime came into effect in July 2017.
Anyone convicted of disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate photo or video face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
There were 225 cases in the first six months, but , just 89 were solved by Police Scotland.
The offence covers situations where someone shares filmed or still images of another person in an intimate situation.
This includes images taken in private where someone is nude or clothed only in underwear, or showing a person engaged in a sexual act.
Glasgow mum Vonny Leclerc was the victim of revenge porn:
The law, passed unanimously by MSPs, is aimed at addressing a growing problem, as easy access to devices like smartphones means pictures and videos taken with the expectation of privacy can now far more easily be shared publicly online through outlets such as social media.
Detective Superintendent Gordon McCreadie, Police Scotland, said: "Non Consensual sharing of intimate images is a new offence, introduced last July and it remains difficult to draw conclusions on information which covers such a short period.
"Investigation into such offences are complex and dependant in many cases on the way in which perpetrators obtain and share the images as well as the ability to recover sufficient evidence to charge.
"Perpetrators often share, or threaten to share images as a way of trying to impose power and control over their victims in what can be an absolute betrayal of trust.
"Police Scotland remains committed to robustly investigating these matters and we encourage anyone affected to come forward and report it so we can work with partners to support them and recover available evidence as early as possible."
Dr Marsha Scott, the chief executive of Scottish Women's Aid, believes the law needs more time to bed in:
