A man who burgled his ex-boyfriend before sending explicit videos to his mum and brother declared he was “free” after being handed a suspended sentence today (February 4).
Jonathon Nolan was handed an 11 month prison term, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity and 120 hours of unpaid work. He was also made the subject of a curfew and a restraining order.
He appeared in court today after admitting an offence of burglary, as well as disclosing private sexual images with intent to cause distress.
READ MORE: Man burgled ex-boyfriend then sent explicit videos to his mum and brother
Nolan had burgled his ex-boyfriend, sent him a cryptic song reference and then shared explicit videos of the pair with his victim’s mum and brother.
After his appearance at Liverpool Crown Court today, when he was handed the suspended sentence, Nolan wrote on Facebook: “In the words of John Inman “I’m free”…..haha I won!!”.
The post references the catchphrase of John Inman’s character Mr. Humphries in 1970s BBC sitcom Are You Being Served, and suggests Nolan sees today's outcome as a victory.
Nolan's offences "caused the family extreme distress, embarrassment and upset"
Jonathon Nolan had been in a relationship with his victim for around 18 months before they separated.
On the night of December 5, 2020, he broke into the Bootle home of the friend his ex-partner was staying with and stole items including clothing.
Paul Wood, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court : “The victim went to bed at around 10.30pm. At around midnight one of his friend’s children woke him up and said Mr Nolan had just left the address. He got up. A number of possessions had been stolen.”
In the early hours of December 6 he then received a message from Mr Nolan, who wrote that he needed to listen to a particular record in order to get to sleep.
The court heard the song Nolan referred to was thought to have either been among a series of records stolen in the earlier burglary, or which Nolan had previously taken from the victim.
On December 6, the victim’s mum woke to find explicit recordings of Nolan and her son had been sent to her by the defendant via WhatsApp.
Two videos had been sent to her, along with the message: “This is me and your son. Enjoy.”
She told police the clips “caused her some distress”.
Mr Wood said: “She immediately deleted the messages and called her son to tell him she had received them.”
The 35-year-old was arrested on December 10 and admitted sending revenge porn but initially denied burglary.
Nolan eventually admitted an offence of burglary, as well as disclosing private sexual images with intent to cause distress.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: “I accept that the relationship and the breakdown of that relationship was punctuated with abuse in a domestic setting which was directed at you and which had a serious effect upon you.”
He said the burglary had a “significant” impact on those who lived at the house and the revenge porn offence “caused the family extreme distress, embarrassment and upset but fortunately they were not disseminated any wider than the immediate family of the victim”.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
