SINGAPORE: A man has threatened to release his ex-girlfriend’s nude videos, telling her she was “going to be an influencer” and he had “nothing to lose”.
After their split, the man also stalked the woman on Microsoft Teams for months when she blocked him on other social media platforms.
He pleaded guilty on Wednesday August 17 to two charges of making threats that alarmed his ex-girlfriend and to one charge of harassment.
The man, now 22, cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, who is covered by a gag order. She was 19 at the time.
The judge asked for reports to assess the man’s suitability for probation or a mandatory treatment order, which orders an offender with certain treatable psychiatric conditions to receive psychiatric treatment.
The man suffered from depression and anxiety at the time, according to his attorneys, Mr Mark Yeo and Ms Chloe Chen of Kalco Law.
The court heard that the man and his ex-girlfriend met at school and got together in April 2018. They had a falling out and broke up around December 2019.
During their relationship, the man took or received from the victim over 100 videos and photos of her in various states of undress. Several of the videos showed them having sex.
At the end of 2019, the couple argued on Telegram. The victim was then under the impression that the man had deleted the revealing videos and photos of her
But during the argument, the man told the victim he had “almost 100” of her nude videos and threatened to circulate them.
He also told her she had “got the wrong guy”, Assistant District Attorney Benedict Teong said.
The man repeated a similar threat in another argument on Telegram on December 23, 2019, when the victim said she was going to leave their chat group.
“I will leak your nudes and make sure your 2020 is amazing,” he told her in a message.
The man sent the threatening messages with the intention of alarming the victim, Mr Teong said.
From May to July 2020, the man also harassed the victim with frequent annoying messages on Microsoft Teams, which she used to access classes at her school.
The man’s messages typically involved trying to make his ex-girlfriend feel guilty, the prosecutor said.
At that time, the victim had blocked the man on other social networks and made it clear to him that she no longer wanted to have contact with him.
The offender will return for sentencing in October.
The punishment for using threatening words to cause alarm is up to six months in prison, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.
The offense of harassment is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.