Jewellery model who posted 'revenge porn' photos online dodges prison as victim says she was left 'stripped of her dignity'
A jewellery model posted photos online of a woman having sex with a man alongside insulting comments including 'slag', a court heard today.
Louise Billman uploaded 'multiple' screen shots from videos of the woman she managed to obtain, showing her in 'various sexual positions'.
The court heard the victim, who can't be named for legal reasons, had been 'stripped of her dignity' by the revenge porn and feared who else had seen the images.
Billman, 40, appeared at Cambridge Magistrates Court to be sentenced after being found guilty of disclosing private sexual images without consent at the same court following a trial in May.
She escaped jail after the Bench heard she had a previously unblemished record and even reassured her before sentencing her.
Chairman of the Bench Stephanie Bishop said: 'Do not panic when I tell you this but we are sending you to prison for a total period of 20 weeks.
'However, sentence will be suspended for 12 months.'
Billman, of Norwich, showed no emotion and stared straight ahead as she learned her fate.
She used Instagram to post images of the woman having sex with the man, who is also entitled to anonymity.
Comments accompanying the images included 'slag', 'tramp' and 'stalkaway'.
Prosecutor James Quelch said the incident had 'affected the victim's day-to-day activities' and made her 'scared' of the potential consequences.
The woman said in a victim impact statement that was read out in court: 'I felt like I had been stripped of my dignity… my anxiety has increased, I am constantly thinking that people who know me have seen the images.
'I am worried there will be repercussions for my family and child. In her posts there were also images of my child. I am constantly worried about the images surfacing.'
Natalie Buck, defending, said her client was of 'good character' and had been ostracised by her family for supporting her partner, Joey Baptiste, who accompanied her to court today.
Baptiste, 41, escaped jail in 2021 after admitting a charge of coercive control against a former partner when Billman begged with the judge to spare him.
Heavily pregnant with his twins at the time, she told Norwich Crown Court he had turned his life around and was attending AA meetings.
'I am completely dependent on Joe emotionally and financially,' she added.
'We've taken out a £12,000 loan to fund IVF and we have a mortgage to pay.'
Baptiste, 41, had caused 'severe psychological harm' and physical injuries to his victim in a series of incidents, including dragging her from her bed one night and throwing her against a wall.
On another occasion, he smashed her head against a car dashboard, the court heard.
But Judge Alice Robinson said he had 'shown evidence he could be rehabilitated' after hearing from Billman and gave him a two-year suspended jail term.
Baptiste also appeared in Norwich Magistrates Court in February when he received nine penalty points on his driving licence for crashing a £100,000 red Ferrari F430 in Norwich into a row of bicycle racks and narrowly avoiding a jogger.
The incident, which was captured on CCTV, happened after he was allowed behind the wheel of the car by former Dragon's Den contestant Ross Mendham, who won an investment for a low-calorie food range in 2013.
Witnesses heard Baptiste – who threatened a photographer outside court today - revving the engine at a set of traffic lights, with one saying they had 'never seen driving quite so bad and quite so fast down that bit of road'.
He admitted careless driving and could have been banned under totting up rules as he already had four penalty points.
But the court accepted losing his licence would cause unnecessary hardship to the construction machinery driver.
Miss Buck told the court today: 'It is quite rare for somebody of such good character to be before the court…
'She supported Baptiste through his trial… some members of her family ostracised her for supporting her partner, apart from her mother.
'By June 2023, she had been cut off by lots of people and had no voice and no narrative. She found herself in a position where she was helpless.'
Billman, who models jewellery for a high street store in Norwich, was also ordered to pay £200 compensation to her victim for the 'ongoing fear and trauma' she was suffering.
There was also a £154 surcharge and a £650 contribution to court costs – reduced to £400 due to her 'financial situation'.
Billman didn't comment as she left court.
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