Police thank Georgia Harrison for ‘bravery and trust’ after Stephen Bear’s revenge porn verdict

Police have thanked Georgia Harrison for her "bravery and trust" after her ex-boyfriend Stephen Bear was found guilty of revenge porn.

Celebrity Big Brother winner, Stephen, 32, was today convicted of uploading a video to his OnlyFans page of Love Island's Georgia Harrison, 28, having sex with him in his garden.

The 32 year old was convicted by a jury of two counts of revenge porn and one count of voyeurism today, 13 December, having denied the charges.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan, of Essex Police, has praised Georgia for waiving her anonymity and coming forward in light of the case.

Following the verdict, Nolan said: "This man [Stephen Bear] thought he could treat women and girls like they were on a reality show. He thought he could commit appalling crimes in Essex and get away with it. He was wrong.

“You can’t try to shame and manipulate people to satisfy yourself. You can’t pretend that taking intimate videos and sharing them without consent is OK. It’s not. And if you try to get away with it in Essex, you won’t, regardless of who you are.

“Thank you Georgia Harrison, not only for your bravery but for your trust in our detectives. I’d like to commend the investigating officer in this case, DC Brian Sitch who has demonstrated his determination to stand alongside Georgia Harrison to hold this man to account.

“Let me be clear, misogyny and violence and intimidation against women and girls, in all its forms, is wrong – and it is for us all to stand up and stand together to stamp it out in our society.”

Georgia, herself, released a statement following the verdict, speaking about the "absolute hell" she's been through the past two years.

"The only way to describe how I am feeling now is relieved," she explained. "The last two years have been absolute hell and this verdict will allow me to start to put the pain I have suffered in the past and start embracing the future.

"Bear’s behaviour was completely unacceptable and those who choose to commit such crimes should and will be prosecuted."

The former Love Island contestant went on to speak on the dangers of the "virtual world" and how important it is to protect people from injustices online.

She continued: "We are living in a time where so much of our lives and our children’s lives are spent online and it is so important that individuals are protected in the virtual world just as they are in reality.

"Social media has given us the egalitarian belief that we are all publishers but what it hasn’t done is regulate what we should responsibly publish."

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