Kyran Wherry

On 23 April 2023, Kyran Wherry, a 25-year-old resident of Brooklyn Road in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, engaged in an act of image-based sexual abuse commonly known as 'revenge porn'. The incident occurred at an address in Cheltenham after Wherry became upset with a woman during an argument.

According to court proceedings reported by Gloucestershire Live, Wherry snatched the woman's phone and locked himself in a bathroom. He recorded her text messages and subsequently messaged her partner, claiming to know everything about the situation. Wherry then accessed recordings from her phone and sent explicit images of a sexual nature to a private chat group involving people she worked with. This was done explicitly to maximise distress to both the woman and her partner.

Crown Prosecutor Joanne Wallis described the offence in Cheltenham Magistrates' Court, stating: 'He recorded her texts, he then messaged her partner and said he knew everything. He then took the recordings of her phone and sent them to a private chat with people she worked with. The images were of a sexual nature and were sent to maximise distress to both.'

• The offence took place on 23 April 2023.
• Wherry was charged under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which criminalised the non-consensual sharing of private sexual images with intent to cause distress.
• Prosecutor Wallis classified it as a Category One offence due to the sexual content of the images and the substantial distress caused.

Wherry appeared before District Judge Peter Donnison at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on 24 October 2023, where he pleaded guilty at his first hearing. The judge noted: 'Looking at the culpability and harm factors it does seem that a report is necessary in this case,' and commended Wherry for 'doing the right thing in accepting that you committed this offence.' The maximum penalty for such offences is up to two years' imprisonment and/or a fine, though no strict sentencing guidelines apply.

Wherry was released on conditional bail pending sentencing on 27 November 2023, after the victim provides personal statements to the court. Gloucestershire Constabulary is the prosecuting police force involved in the case.