Georgia Harrison wins record damages in revenge porn case against jailed Stephen Bear

July 26, 2023

Georgia Harrison will receive a record amount of damages from Stephen Bear, who was jailed in March after being found guilty of sharing a revenge porn video of him having sex with her.

Bear will have to pay £207,900 to Harrison from prison - the highest ever sum awarded in an image abuse case.

It is also one of the largest damage payments ever for a privacy claim relating to a single act.

In a statement, Harrison said she will be donating part of the damages to "multiple charities that have helped support me and other victims of image-based sexual abuse".

She has also paid tribute to her legal team.

Responding to the record damages, Hanna Basha from Payne Hicks Beach law firm said: "This has been a difficult, complicated and emotional case.

"I am pleased that we were able to support Georgia, and I hope her strength in pursuing this highlights to other victims that there is help and support available for them and that the courts take these matters very seriously."

Bear was found guilty of voyeurism, and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photographs and films in December.

Ms Harrison, who also appeared on Love Island, waived her right to anonymity and said she had been through "absolute hell" since 2020.

During a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the prosecution said Ms Harrison and Bear had consensual sex at his home in Loughton, Essex, but she did not know they were being recorded.

Bear denied all charges and claimed at trial that he deleted the footage that day and had shared it with no one other than Ms Harrison.

During his trial, Bear's Twitter account posted a "50% off" deal for his adult entertainment website alongside a photo of him arriving at court accompanied by his girlfriend Jessica Smith.

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Since the conviction, Harrison has been among the campaigners attempting to add amendments to the Online Safety Bill, that will ban the sharing of deep-fake pornography - explicit images or videos that have been digitally manipulated to look like someone else - without the consent of those depicted.

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