We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. For a while, Marie* complied with the threats from her ex-boyfriend. The business student living in Perth told her if she did not help him with assignments and send him money, he would send naked pictures of her to friends, family and the wider community.Gay porno The student was jailed over the revenge porn threats. Credit: Louise Kennerley Marie, 22, lived in Mauritius and was petrified of the photos being distributed and damaging her and her family’s reputation. She claimed the threats made to her by Karan Singh Purmah, now 33, led to her feeling suicidal, so she took action and went to the local authorities with the text messages in hand. But they refused to take the matter seriously and took no further action. Unperturbed, she reached 6000 kilometres across the Indian Ocean and contacted WA Police instead. She explained she had been in a long-distance relationship with Purmah who was in Perth studying a bachelor of business degree. She told police the relationship was contentious and that there was “jealousy on both sides” which led Marie to end the relationship in May, 2018. What eventuated she now refers to as “the worst phase of [her] life” that left her feeling “mentally tortured” and blackmailed. Purmah encouraged Marie to hang herself. He told her he would tell everyone she was a prostitute who made pornographic films. He made a fake website and uploaded naked photos of Marie to it and sent it to her, leading her to believe it could be seen by the wider community. She was beside herself, knowing the shame it would bring her and her family’s reputation if such photos were distributed. But the nude photos had been sent at Purmah’s request, in the context of what she thought was a loving relationship with a man she trusted. Instead Purmah used them against her in what a Perth District Court judge eventually called “a form of domestic violence”. “This was a young girl who you were in a long-distance relationship with, who, at the very least, trusted you with intimate images of herself,” the sentencing judge told Purmah, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his actions. “You abused that trust and whenever you would argue, you’d threaten to release those images to friends and family as a way of controlling her behaviour. This was a form of domestic violence. This court has an intolerance and an abhorrence of domestic violence and threatened violence in relationships and former relationships.” Last week, an appeal was made by Purmah to have his sentence reduced, but it was dismissed, the full details of his offending now laid bare in public court documents. The judgement found Purmah had no remorse for his offending and even denied knowing who Marie was before police analysed his phone and found the threatening messages and naked photos of her. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of making a threat with the intent to compel the complainant to do an act that she was lawfully entitled to abstain from doing and the matter was set down for trial four times and then abandoned before it was eventually heard before a jury in February this year. He was found guilty and despite having no prior record, was sent to prison for a total of 18 months. “She is not your property. You do not own her and you cannot control her,” the sentencing judge said to him. “This was persistent, premeditated, calculated offending on your part. There were serious consequences for the victim if she did not comply with your demands.” An increase in revenge porn cases led to the introduction of intimate image laws in WA in 2019. It is now an offence to distribute or threaten to distribute an intimate image of a person without their consent. Purmah is due to be released next year. *Not her real name. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14. The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here. Copyright © 2024
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