Woman loses appeal to have ex-partner prosecuted for sharing image of them having sex when she was 16

She mounted a High Court challenge to the Public Prosecution Service’s determination that he should instead be issued with a caution.

But senior judges in Belfast dismissed her case today after ruling that an internal review dealt with any complaints over the original decision-making process.

Lord Justice Treacy said: “We are satisfied that this was done and that the application of the public interest test by the PPS resulting in a caution rather than prosecution is unimpeachable.”

Now aged 20, the woman claimed she was under 16 when the offence was committed.

Her ex-boyfriend, referred to as DB, took a video of them engaged in sexual intercourse around October 2016, according to her case.

She denied his claims that the footage was taken with her knowledge.

The court heard DB then made a still photograph from the video and sent it to a third party without her consent.

Police launched an investigation after a copy of the image was forwarded to the woman’s older brother by text or social media in October 2018.

In May 2019 she was informed by the PPS Victim and Witness Care Unit that a decision had been made to caution DB for the offence of disclosing a private sexual photograph to without consent, rather than prosecuting him through the criminal courts.

She complained that she was not contacted by either the PSNI or the PPS, and that her views were not sought before the decision was taken.

An Assistant Director within the prosecution service conducted a review before the woman was notified in September last year that the original decision would remain unchanged.

She issued judicial review proceedings, claiming a breach of the Code for Prosecutors.

Her lawyers alleged failures to consult her adequately, to take account of her views and the impact of the offence on her family.

However, the PPS argued that the case was unsustainable because its internal review rendered the earlier decision irrelevant and addressed any failures.

Rejecting the woman’s challenge, the court held that process had dealt with any potential legal issues.

Lord Justice Treacy confirmed: “While there may have been some grounds for complaint in relation to the earlier decision, that decision was superseded and corrected by the internal review which took place within the PPS and there are no public law grounds upon which that fresh decision can be impugned.”