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Gilbert Asemuasa, a 24-year-old commercial motorbike rider at Akatsi in the Akatsi South Municipality of the Volta Region, has been sentenced to two years in jail by the District Court for circulating his former fiancé’s private video on social media.

The convict was charged with the offence of non-consensual sharing of intimate image contrary to Section 67 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) which states that;

Section 67 — Non-consensual sharing of intimate image

(1) A person shall not, with intent to, cause serious emotional distress, intentionally distribute or intentionally cause another person to distribute the intimate image or prohibited visual recording of another identifiable person without the consent of the person depicted in the intimate image and in respect of which, there was a reasonable expectation of privacy both at the time of the creation of the image or visual recording and at the time the offence was committed.

(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than three years.

(3) For the purpose of this section, "serious emotional distress" includes any intentional conduct that results in mental reactions such as fright, nervousness, grief, anxiety, worry, mortification, shock, humiliation and indignity, as well as physical pain.

Police prosecutor Chief Inspector Joseph Ajongbah, briefing the court during an appearance on June 2, said three years ago, the convict was in a relationship with a 20-year-old female past student of the Caring Sister Vocational Institute in Keta, and that, in January 2019 in the night, the complainant visited the convict in his house and they engaged in sexual intercourse.

He said the complainant informed the convict of experiencing some rashes on her genitalia and the convict used his phone's light to check but also recorded the area without the knowledge of the complainant.

Chief Inspector Ajongba narrated that the convict had cautioned the complainant not to quit the relationship, and that failure to comply would compel him to teach her some lessons.

He further said the complainant later called for an end to the relationship after a misunderstanding had ensued between them.

Chief Inspector Ajongbah continued that the complainant rejected all the persuasive approaches used by the convict to lure her back. The complainant later received a call from an unknown number threatening to expose her nakedness.

He told the court presided over by Mrs Felicia Gandedzi that after realising it was the convict, who was threatening her, she reported the issue to the convict’s brother but nothing was done about it.

The convict was later arrested after a formal complaint was lodged by the complainant with the Police at Akatsi, where the convict, during interrogations, admitted having taken the video but denied sharing it on social media. 

However, after investigations, the convict was charged and arraigned. He was later convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment in hard labour after admitting to the offence.