By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
Court comeuppance for ex-boyfriend’s revenge porn…
AN ENDEAVOUR Hills man who humiliated his ex-partner by posting ‘revenge pornography’ of her on at least 30 websites has been ordered to perform community work.
Rodney Glenn Hotchin, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of stalking in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Monday 29 June after telling police that he had felt “wronged” when the victim ended their two-year relationship in 2013.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Liz Millear told the court that the ex-partner had asked Hotchin to delete consensually filmed, explicit sex scenes and images of her after the break-up.
Hotchin agreed but kept the material stored on a home hard drive and mobile phone.
In December 2014, a friend told the victim there had been explicit images of her on more than 40 adult websites since June 2013.
They were titled by a multitude of vile, degrading phrases.
Sen Const Millear said that upon seeing the published images, the victim felt “harassed, violated, bullied and fearful in public”.
“Professionally, she has felt great shame and embarrassment.”
Some websites complied with the victim’s requests to take down the material but the deleted images were then “immediately” re-posted by Hotchin, Sen Const Millear said.
Hotchin told police that he posted the images on about 30 websites out of a “revenge” fuelled by bitterness and anger, Sen Const Millear said.
He was aware that he did wrong and that he’d placed the victim in fear and apprehension, she said.
Defence lawyer David Dribbin said Hotchin was a single man and technician with no prior record, who had drunk heavily and “ruminated” after the break-up.
According to a psychologist’s report, Hotchin suffered a persistent depressive disorder, was “chronically” lonely and emotionally neglected as a child.
As a result, he had an “egocentric interpretation of social events” and was unable to consider the emotional needs of others, Mr Dribbin told the court.
“What’s significant for the issue of sentencing is… Mr Hotchin hasn’t sought or obtained any treatment and counselling for some fairly significant difficulties in his upbringing, which manifested in his behaviour before the court.”
The psychologist rated Hotchin as a low risk of reoffending.
“I have very little doubt that Mr Hotchin has learnt a very valuable lesson,” Mr Dribbin said.
“At the expense of his girlfriend,” magistrate Doug Bolster retorted.
Mr Bolster told Hotchin: “I’m prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt in my mind.
“Many will argue it should be jail.”
Hotchin was placed on a 12-month community corrections order under “supervision of the secretary”, compelling him to 300 hours of voluntary work.
It included courses of alcohol and mental health treatment.
Mr Bolger ordered the offending images to be destroyed and for Hotchin to provide a forensic sample.
