Stephen Bear, a disgraced reality TV star, has been ordered to pay £27,500 for posting a sex tape of Georgia Harrison or face an additional nine months in jail. This decision was made by Judge Christopher Morgan at a confiscation hearing held at Chelmsford Crown Court. Bear was required to pay £22,500 to the state, as this amount was obtained from illegally posting the film, and an additional £5,000 to Georgia Harrison for the emotional and financial distress he caused her.
Key Facts:
- Stephen Bear was ordered to pay £27,500 for posting a sex tape of Georgia Harrison or face an additional nine months in jail.
- The court acknowledged Bear’s economic gain from the video, including selling his house for £60,000 and earning £15,440.28 from the video.
- Bear was found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, leading to a 21-month prison sentence.
- Georgia Harrison suffered extensive humiliation and embarrassment due to Bear’s actions, and the judge noted her courage and dignity throughout the proceedings.
- Bear was also ordered to register as a sex offender and not have any contact with Harrison for five years, and he must keep authorities updated on his whereabouts for the next decade.
- The court’s decision highlights the legal and financial consequences of revenge porn, with Bear being required to pay a significant amount in damages to Harrison.
- Georgia Harrison has become a campaigner against revenge porn and violence since Bear’s trial, emphasizing the importance of victims’ rights and the need for swift legal action.
Bear, who was released from prison halfway through his sentence earlier this year, was present at the hearing, accompanied by Georgia Harrison and her mother. Following the decision, Georgia Harrison expressed her gratitude to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Essex Police for their efforts in ensuring the confiscation was enforced. She emphasized the importance of making anyone who commits such crimes give back any money earned to the victim and the judicial system, especially after a successful conviction.
Bear was jailed last year for voyeurism and for sharing private sexual photos and videos to cause distress. He was released from prison in January after serving nearly 11 months. The court heard that Bear had made over £22,000 from a CCTV video of him and Georgia Harrison having sex in the garden of his property. Despite claiming to be a billionaire on social media, police revealed that Bear was actually heavily in debt.
During the Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, it was revealed that Bear had made extensive profits from subscribers after uploading the video. The £22,305 will be paid to HM Treasury and distributed to police charities. The original video that featured Ms Harrison made £1,650.98, but Bear earned considerably more after his number of subscribers increased.
Georgia Harrison described the impact of the video as “devastating” and said it had “changed her life forever.” She also mentioned the financial losses she suffered due to Bear’s criminal conduct, including losing work from brands and having to pay legal fees.
In a separate civil case, Bear was ordered to pay more than £200,000 in damages to Georgia Harrison for leaking the sex tape online. This ruling was one of the highest ever payouts in breach of privacy cases. The judge described the leak as a “gross act of violation” and emphasized that pornography is generally consensual, but the filming was not.
Bear was convicted in March after a criminal trial on charges of voyeurism and disclosing private, sexual photographs. The court heard that he had consensual sex with Ms Harrison in a part of his home known to be in view of the CCTV cameras. When he later told her about the footage, Ms Harrison asked for the film to be deleted but became aware that Bear had instead shared it with friends. The footage was posted to OnlyFans on November 8, 2020, and Bear later boasted that he had made £72,000 from subscribers as a result.
Ms Harrison, a former star of shows including The Only Way Is Essex, Love Island, and Olivia Meets Her Match, told the court she felt “completely and utterly exploited, like he had hung me up naked on a wall for millions of people to see and there was nothing I could do about it.” She also mentioned that she believes Bear launched a porn career on the back of the video leak, making yet more profit from the breach of her privacy.
The judge imposed an injunction on Bear at the hearing, preventing him from using the footage again. Ms Harrison thanked legal firm Payne Hicks Beach for supporting her through civil proceedings and expressed her intention to donate part of the settlement sum to multiple charities that have helped support her and other victims of image-based sexual abuse.
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