Reality TV star Stephen Bear has been found guilty of sharing a video of him having sex with his ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison on the website OnlyFans, and he could face jail.
The 32-year-old defendant, who won Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2016, and 27-year-old Ms Harrison were captured having sex on CCTV cameras in Bear’s garden on August 2nd, 2020.
Bear, who has also appeared on Ex On The Beach, claimed at Chelmsford Crown Court in England that he deleted the footage that day and had shared it with no-one other than Ms Harrison.
But on Tuesday, a jury found him guilty by unanimous verdicts of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
He was also found guilty of voyeurism, by a majority verdict of 10 jurors to two.
Bear, who denied all the charges and wore a black suit and tie, looked straight ahead as the jury foreman returned the verdicts after more than eight-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
After the guilty verdicts were returned, Bear said in court: “My barrister said not to…
“In my opinion from the very beginning it was never a fair trial, what the press said against me.
“I was fighting a losing battle and it is what it is.”
Judge Christopher Morgan told the defendant: “Thank you for that observation.”
Ms Harrison, who has appeared on The Only Way Is Essex, Love Island and Olivia Meets Her Match, waived her right to anonymity and watched on from the public gallery.
She appeared to breath a sigh of relief as the guilty verdicts were returned.
She said, in a statement released through police, that 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”.
“I hope me taking a stand gives other men and women who have fallen victim to revenge porn the courage to seek justice and most importantly show them that they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of,” she said.
“I have felt ashamed, hurt, violated, even broken at times but today I stand here feeling empowered, grateful and a huge sense of unity with all of those who have reached out to support me throughout this ordeal.”
During his trial, Bear’s Twitter account posted a “50 per cent off” deal for his adult entertainment website alongside a photo of him arriving at court accompanied by his girlfriend Jessica Smith.
The photo showed him walking from a hired chauffeur-driven white Rolls Royce to the court building, and the accompanying text said, in block capitals: “50 per cent off my adult site for the next 24 hours.
“Come see why I’m trending.”
Stephen Bear, 32, exploited his relationship for his own gratification by sharing a private video without the victim’s consent.
Bear understood his actions were wrong and showed an utter disregard for the victim, going on to gaslight and mock her. pic.twitter.com/5YMJLSt82r— Crown Prosecution Service (@CPSUK) December 13, 2022
Giving evidence, Bear had described himself as “like the jack-of-all trades” who was a labourer and did roofing before doing some “TV work”.
He added: “Now I do a bit of adult entertainment because my TV work has been on hold for two years because of this case.”
The prosecution had told jurors that Ms Harrison and Bear had consensual sex at his home in Loughton, Essex, but Ms Harrison did not know that they were being recorded.
Ms Harrison said that when Bear showed her the footage she told him “never to send” it to anyone and “made it plain how upset she would be if he did”, said Jacqueline Carey KC, prosecuting.
The complainant said that she saw Bear send the footage to someone on WhatsApp later that day, and later that year she was made aware that it was circulating online.
Ms Carey said that Bear uploaded the footage “either himself or had it uploaded to OnlyFans and profited financially”.
The judge bailed Bear until January 31st to return to the same court for sentencing, after a report has been prepared about him.
