A Newcastle man has been jailed after he threatened to send intimate images of his former partner to her friends and family before repeatedly flouting an apprehended violence order by attempting to contact her.
Ethan Henshaw, 31, on Friday afternoon appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he learnt his fate after pleading guilty to sending his ex six videos and six images of her engaged in sexual acts and then threatening to leak them to those close to her.
Wearing prison greens, Henshaw watched on via videolink from Silverwater prison as he learnt he would be jailed for a series of incidents that stretched from October until February and left his victim feeling anxious, stressed and scared.
Henshaw was on bail for the matters for which he was sentenced on Friday, but the court was told that he had been taken into custody on remand in May on unrelated charges.
The car salesman pleaded guilty to threatening to distribute an intimate image without consent as well as three beaches of an AVO put in place to protect his ex-girlfriend, who cannot be identified.
The court was told that the episode unfolded following the breakdown of their relationship.
In October last year, Henshaw became angry with her following an argument and he sent her six images and six videos of her engaging in sexual acts from their time together.
The court was told that she then reached out to one of Henshaw’s friends asking him to speak to him.
Ethan Henshaw has been jailed after trying to blackmail a woman. Picture: Supplied
Henshaw then relayed a message back to the victim, via his friend, that he ‘may or may not send the images’ to her family and friends, the court was told.
The woman reported the incident to police and he was arrested at his Boolaroo home.
While Henshaw maintained he never intended to release the images, magistrate Greg Grogin on Friday said Henshaw was ‘heralding’ that it was a ‘possibility’.
An AVO was put in place, preventing him from contacting her; however, he sent her a friend request on Snapchat and a text message via the social media application.
‘I’m worried about you, I still care about you, never stopped, will never not care, no matter what,’ the message said.
The message also referred to the ‘implications’ and risks he was taking by contacting her.
‘This goes to show that when he sent that message he knew he was breaking the law, he knew he was opening himself up to prosecution,’ Mr Grogin said.
The court was told that Henshaw was further in breach of the AVO when he was found in a park adjacent to the woman’s address. When approached by police, he claimed he was just taking his dog for a walk.
The car salesman pleaded guilty to threatening to distribute an intimate image without consent as well as three beaches of an AVO put in place to protect his ex-girlfriend, who cannot be identified
‘Of all the parks, in all the streets of NSW, he just happened to be taking his dog for a walk 100m from (the victim’s) home,’ Mr Grogin said.
Henshaw also attempted to contact her via Telegram, sending her 37 messages and making nine calls.
‘She was so scared and distressed that she had to take the day off work,’ Mr Grogin said, noting the woman was alarmed by his ‘erratic’ behaviour.
Henshaw’s solicitor argued that the car salesman could be sentenced to a community-based order and spared full-time jail.
Henshaw wrote a letter to the court in which he expressed his ‘remorse’ and ‘disgust’ with his actions.
However, Mr Grogin said Henshaw had an ‘obsession’ with the victim and had violated the trust that existed in their previous relationship.
He said the community needed to be protected and Henshaw held ‘accountable’, adding there was no other appropriate sentence other than prison.
Henshaw was sentenced to 15 months in jail, with a non-parole period of nine months.
With time he had already served in prison, he will be eligible for release on February 15.
