Georgia Harrison has vowed she wants to “focus solely on positive changes in society” after her ex Stephen Bear was found guilty of posting a sex tape of her online.
The Love Island star, who waived her right to anonymity to testify at her trial, shared a lengthy Instagram post vowing she would “put any negativity aside” after a two-year ordeal.
Stephen, who now faces up to two years in prison, was found guilty on two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with the intent to cause distress, after he uploaded CCTV footage of him and Georgia in a sex act to OnlyFans.
Defiant: Georgia Harrison has vowed she wants to “focus solely on positive change in society” after her ex Stephen Bear was found guilty of posting a sex tape of her online.
Georgia shared a glamorous snap on her Instagram grid dressed in a black three-piece suit and wrote a heartfelt caption thanking her fans for their support during the difficult time.
She wrote: ‘Thank you for all your support. I really want to put any negativity aside and focus solely on positive changes in our society to help protect everyone, but most importantly the younger generation.
‘To all those who have been victims of similar crimes, I hear you and I am with you. We can’t control all the things that happen in our lives, but we can choose not to let them define us.’
Hard time: The Love Island star, who waived her right to anonymity to testify at her trial, shared a lengthy Instagram post vowing to “put any negativity aside”
In her post, Georgia also shared a video of Deputy Police Chief Rachel Nolan speaking outside Chelmsford Crown Court after the guilty verdict was delivered.
She said: ‘This man thought he could treat women and girls like they were on a reality show.
He thought he could commit heinous crimes in Essex and get away with it. He was wrong.
Shocking: Stephen, who now faces up to two years in prison, was found guilty on two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with the intent to cause distress.
‘You can’t try and manipulate people to satisfy yourself. You can’t pretend that taking intimate videos and sharing them without consent is okay. It is not.
If you try to get away with it in Essex, you won’t, no matter who you are. Thank you Georgia Harrison, not only for your bravery, but for your trust in our detectives.
“I would like to comment on the investigating officer in this case, Detective Brian Sitch, who has shown his determination to stand with Georgia Harrison to hold this man accountable.
“A young woman has shown immense courage in taking a public stand to try to protect other women and girls.”
Cell? The judge bailed Bear (pictured with his girlfriend Jessica Smith) until January 31 to return to the same court for sentencing, after a brief was prepared on him.
In her statement following the guilty verdict, Georgia said that “the last two years have been absolute hell.”
Stephen is alleged to have captured CCTV footage of the event in his back garden on August 2, 2020 and uploaded it to OnlyFans.
Georgia said she was unaware they were being filmed and told Bear not to share the footage when she showed it to him, but said he shared it on WhatsApp and the online subscription site.
Bear had denied all charges, but today a jury found him guilty by unanimous verdicts on two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
He was found guilty by a majority verdict of 10 jurors to two of voyeurism.
He now faces up to two years in prison, and Georgia said the verdict “would allow me to start letting go of the pain I’ve suffered in the past and start embracing the future.”
She added: “I hope that taking a stand gives other men and women who have been victims of revenge porn the courage to seek justice and, most importantly, show them that they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I have felt ashamed, hurt, violated, even broken at times, but I stand here today feeling empowered, grateful, and with a great sense of unity with all those who have reached out to support me through this ordeal.
Horrible: In her statement after the guilty verdict, Georgia said the “last two years have been absolute hell” (pictured with Bear in 2019)
The judge released Bear on bail until January 31 to return to the same court for sentencing, after a report was made on him.
Wearing a black suit and tie, Bear looked ahead as the foreman of the jury returned the verdicts after more than eight and a half hours of deliberation.
After the guilty verdicts were returned, Bear said in court: “My lawyer said no…
‘In my opinion, from the 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 remark.’
Georgia said that when Bear showed her the footage, she told him to “never send it” to anyone and “made it clear how upset she would be if he did.”
Prosecutor Jacqueline Carey KC said Bear uploaded the images “himself or uploaded them to OnlyFans and benefited financially.”
Bear, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, claims he deleted the images and did not send them to others.
Legal battle: Bear denied all charges, but today a jury found him guilty by unanimous verdicts
He previously told the trial that he “thought it was funny” that cameras had caught him and Ms Harrison having sex.
“We play it on the monitor screen,” he said. She asked for a copy.
“I said ‘of course I’ll send you a copy’, it lasted 20 minutes.”
Bear said Ms Harrison “told me to delete the pictures, which I did.”
‘Why would I want that on my phone?’
He said his “intention” that day “was to catch up with a friend – the sex was a bonus and the pictures were pretty fun to watch.”
He described Georgia’s accusation that she saw him send the images to someone on WhatsApp that night as a “complete lie”.
Speaking: Georgia (left, at Chelmsford Crown Court earlier this month) says she never consented to video sharing and is seeking civil compensation
During his interview with police, Bear claimed that Georgia laughed at the sex tape when it was shown to her in the garden, saying that she “put on a good performance.”
She told officers that she had shared it with her friends, telling them: ‘I said ‘Damn, baby, look at that, I’ve got it on camera.’
“It turned her on, she was horny, she just laughed about it, it’s funny.”
Bear repeatedly claimed that his Instagram had been hacked, but only responded “No comment” when asked specific questions by police.
Georgia’s mother and manager, Nicola Harrison, testified during the trial, saying her daughter was “tearful” and “crying” when she phoned her the day after being filmed.
She said Ms. Harrison told her not to worry because Bear had promised to delete the video.
Nicola told the jury: “She said he sent the video to someone in front of her and she asked him to delete it.” She thought she had reached the end-she said ‘Don’t worry, she has erased it’.
“She said that people were contacting her and saying that they had seen the video and that some people contacted her from the United States. She said it needs to be online and it’s not just people showing it.
As her manager, Nicola had access to her daughter’s Instagram account and said that after a request for information her daughter posted in December 2020, she saw 20 responses, one of which sent her a screenshot of the video.
She said she went on Bear’s OnlyFans page, paid $15 and watched the video but didn’t watch it, adding, “It’s something I would never, ever want to see.”
When asked about the images that were uploaded to OnlyFans, Bear said in his judgment, “I don’t know if any videos were uploaded.”
‘All I know is a 20-minute video he had at the time. I don’t know of any other videos that have been uploaded.
‘
He also said that he had never changed the subscription price on his OnlyFans account, which was deactivated in December 2020.
The alleged crimes are said to have taken place in August 2020 and November 2020. Bear was arrested after returning from Dubai in January 2021.
Hard time: Georgia said that when Bear showed her the footage, she told him to “never send it” to anyone and “made it clear how upset she would be if he did.”