‘Revenge porn’ accused refused bail at Dungannon Magistrates

A man accused of fraud and harassment arising from allegations of so-called revenge porn, has been refused bail.

Married, father of two, 46-year-old Neil James Edwards appeared at Dungannon Magistrates Court on Friday having been arrested in England and brought to Northern Ireland by PSNI Cyber Crime officers investing a case of alleged revenge online porn.

Whilst the case does not appear to have been motivated by financial gain, a detective told the court, police believe it was “to satisfy sexual needs and to exert control over females, picked randomly”.

Edwards, of Millenium Close, Northampton is accused of dishonestly making a false representation on dates between 11 and 14 September 2014, claiming to own a model ling agency. He is further accused of pursuing a course of conduct amounting to the harassment of a female on dates between 16 September and 13 November 2014.

Recounting the details of the case, the detective explained how the injured party is a female in her 20’s from County Fermanagh, who received a telephone call in September last year from a person purporting to be carrying out a beauty survey on behalf of a magazine.

She willingly engaged and was later introduced via Facebook to a person claiming to be female and representing a model agency.