A SCORNED boyfriend shared revenge porn of his ex on her birthday after threatening to “bait her out” following their break-up.
Rio Macfarlane, 18, shared explicit images and videos of the victim on Instagram while she was celebrating her birthday with family.
He had previously threatened to “bait her out” and give her the “shi****st birthday” ever after she split up with him.
The stalker also bombarded her with phone calls and messages before finally beating her in an attempt to pressure her into deleting evidence of his crimes.
Bromley Magistrates Court heard how Macfarlane was furious when the victim broke up with him in a park last year.
Speaking at Macfarlane’s sentencing hearing earlier this week, prosecutor Mr Hussain said: “He began shouting at her and said ‘this will be the worst decision of your life’.
“She later began receiving WhatsApp messages saying ‘I’m going to bait you out, everyone is going to see it’.
“He said ‘I’m going to make your birthday the shi****st birthday’. Later that night she got a follow request from an account on Instagram and the profile picture was a nude picture of her.
“There was a link to Telegram on the profile which said ‘free nudes’. She reported it to the police and it was removed from Instagram.”
Macfarlane then bombarded the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, with messages as she celebrated her birthday with her family at her grandad’s home.
“At 1.40pm the family were sat in the living room when the victim got a notification on Instagram. Her family members said she looked like she was going to cry,” Mr Hussain said.
“One family member looked at the message and could see the defendant had put up a five second video of a person’s lower private area.
“At 4.30pm there was another video from the same account showing a sexually explicit act. The victim could be identified.”
In a statement about Macfarlane’s crimes, the victim said: “I consented to the photos and videos he took of me during our relationship but I didn’t consent to him posting them on social media.
“It was very distressing. I don’t know who has viewed them and I’m worried he will post them online again. I was under 18 in the videos and photos.”
The victim revealed that her family and friends have now seen intimate images of her.
Bromley Magistrates Court heard how Macfarlane tried to thwart the police investigation by waiting for the victim outside her home and trying to pressure her into deleting evidence of his behaviour.
Mr Hussain said: “He wanted her to delete the screenshots and she could see he was holding a flick knife in his waistband.”
The victim ran away but Macfarlane chased after her and hit her with a “hammer-type punch”, causing swelling to her eye, the court heard.
It was not the first time he had attacked the victim. He also pushed her and damaged her phone by throwing it to the floor after she broke up with him in the park. During that incident the victim claimed Macfarlane was once again carrying a knife.
The victim said: “This has made me feel very scared, vulnerable and upset. I feel like he (Macfarlane) is not going to rest until I’m hurt.
“He knows where I live. I’m scared he will find us and kill us.”
Honor Fitzgerald, defending, said Macfarlane – who lived in Lewisham at the time of his offending – was remorseful over his actions.
She pointed out that he has autism and post traumatic stress disorder after providing CPR to his brother’s friend who had been stabbed.
And the barrister added that Macfarlane, who has a previous conviction, is currently completing an apprenticeship and is “on the cusp of a bright future”.
Sentencing Macfarlane, Judge Turnock said: “These are unbelievably serious offences.
“You did not plead guilty until the day of the trial. That makes the suggestion that you feel sorry about what you did in some doubt.
“There’s a lot you have going for you. You are clearly very able to do good things with your life. Your life has not been easy.
“It’s not lost on me that the offences took place against a background of threats and trauma you experienced.”
The judge handed Macfarlane a 10-month suspended sentence and issued him with a restraining order barring him from contacting the victim for three years.