A man who threatened to put naked pictures of his ex-partner online then sent them to her teenage son was branded “pig ignorant” by a sheriff yesterday.
John Devaney sent the woman threatening text messages two weeks after they split up.
They included sexually explicit images which had been taken with her consent during their relationship.
Oban Sheriff Court heard the woman’s 18-year-old son was also sent a sexually explicit image of his mother with the words: “Your mum isn’t looking too bad eh?”
Thirty-eight-year-old Devaney admitted sending text messages of a grossly offensive or obscene or menacing character, by swearing and uttering offensive and sexual remarks, and threatening to post sexual pictures of the woman on the internet on December 2.
The lorry loader also admitted intentionally causing her son to look at a sexual image of her, by sending him the picture on December 3.
Sheriff Ruth Anderson QC deferred sentence on Devaney for six months to allow him to save to pay a fine and be of good behaviour – and decided not to put him on the sex offender’s register.
She said: “This is utterly disgusting behaviour.
“I don’t seen him as a sex offender. He is a pig ignorant creature, but he is not a sex offender.”
Fiscal Eoin McGinty said: “The accused started sending messages to the complainer.
“These consisted of sexually explicit images that had been taken with consent during the course of a relationship.
“Then a message came that said ‘time to talk’.
“She understood that to be a veiled threat that these photographs might be made public. As if she required any further confirmation of that, she received another message saying ‘got till tomorrow or you will be all over the web’.
“She was clearly concerned about this.
“Events progressed the following day. He went to her house and there came a point when the police were called.
“While police were at her home taking a statement from her, her son was also there. His phone beeped and he received a picture message with a sexually explicit image of his mother.
“This was shown to the two police officers who were present.”
Devaney, of Riverside, Ground Right, Connel Village Store, Connel, told officers: “I was trying to get back at her for ignoring me.”
His agent, solicitor Jane Thomson, said: “He is disgusted at himself. He had been drinking heavily that day. He made admissions at interview.”
She said Devaney appeared from custody on December 5 and was remanded in custody for six nights by an honorary sheriff until December 11, when the charges were reduced to summary level.
Miss Thomson added: “The only mitigation in respect of the offences is the difficulty he was having coming to terms with the end of the relationship. But it doesn’t excuse the behaviour.”
Sheriff Anderson told Devaney: “Given your previous good record I am prepared to defer sentence in this matter for a period of six months for you to be of good behaviour.
“During that six-month period you will save up to pay the inevitable fine that will be imposed. That is on the basis of no further offending.
“Under no circumstances have you to have any contact with her.
“That is just a horrible bit of behaviour.”
Sentence was deferred until August 18.