It's a very rare thing for someone to be arrested and charged for posting inappropriate photos of someone else online without their prior permission or knowledge. Yet, that's exactly what happened to 20-year-old Ravshan ''Ronnie'' Usmanov in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Usmanov was sentenced to a six month jail term for posting nude photos of his former girlfriend on Facebook.
The story reports that Usmanov was unhappy that his ex-girlfriend had left him and in October 2011 posted six nude pictures of her on Facebook. She then found out about his actions and went to Usmanov's home in the town of Pyrmont demanding that he take those images down. When Usmanov refused, she decided to call the police.
In her decision to sentence Usmanoc, Deputy-Chief Magistrate Jane Mottley wanted to send a message to him as well as others who might want to launch similar online attacks. Mottley said:
New-age technology through Facebook gives instant access to the world. Facebook as a social networking site has limited boundaries. Incalculable damage can be done to a person's reputation by the irresponsible posting of information through that medium. With its popularity and potential for real harm, there is a genuine need to ensure the use of this medium to commit offenses of this type is deterred.
Usmanov did plead guilty to publishing an indecent article but also tried to appeal the six month jail sentence which was to be served via home detention. An appeals court judge did confirm the original sentence but removed the home detention portion, instead giving Usmanov a suspended sentence.
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