A “vindictive” woman who shared nude pictures of her father’s lover on an escort site after finding out about his affair has learned her fate in court.
Eleanor Brown, 24, was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday after admitting to disclosing a private photo or film without consent. Leeds Crown Court previously heard that Geoff Brown, 61, a retired police officer, had an extra-marital affair with the woman in the pictures more than a decade ago. The mistress sent Geoff the pictures but his wife Sarah, 57, found them and sent them on to her daughter years later.
Eleanor Brown then uploaded the images of the woman, as well as a phone number for her husband, to an escort site called Beaver Street in 2022. The court heard Eleanor was encouraged by her sister Sophie Brown to share the pics. Sophie at the time was an officer with West Yorkshire Police but left her role before she could be sacked.
Eleanor also posted abusive comments on a Facebook business page belonging to the husband of the woman in 2022, dubbing her a “home-wrecking s***” and a “tramp”. In addition, messages were also uploaded on the advertising platform Nextdoor and photos were sent to the victim’s husband over WhatsApp.
Eleanor told police she was “half” guilty and attempted to justify her actions, despite denying the charges. She initially stood trial but soon changed her pleas to guilty throughout proceedings.
The woman said in a victim impact statement read to the court that she “constantly feels nauseous and anxious”, and that she felt “violated” and feared the pictures could emerge in the future – meaning she would have to “live through this nightmare again”.
Harry Crowson, mitigating for Brown – who has no previous convictions – said learning about her father’s affair had caused “trauma”, having found out when she was just a teenager. He told the court: “She became a warrior in a war she ought not to have been fighting. She feels resentment that is perhaps attributed in the wrong places. She needs to stop fighting a battle that is not hers.”
Judge Alex Menary said Brown’s decisions and actions were persistent and called her “vengeful and vindictive”. He allowed her minimal credit having changed her pleas only after the victim had been forced to give evidence in court. He added Brown’s attitude after arrest displayed that she was “utterly, utterly unapologetic” and “totally devoid of any moral compass whatsoever”.
Brown was jailed for three years and was issued a lifelong restraining order to stay away from the woman.
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