A revenge porn victim whose stalker ex posted intimate pictures of her on Instagram says Georgia Harrison is 'amazing' for speaking out about her ordeal.
Karolina Smith, 26, was stalked and harassed by her ex, Ben Rothon, 37.
In 2019, a judge at Basildon Crown Court found him guilty of stalking causing serious alarm or distress, including an offence for disclosing private sexual content, relating to naked images. He is also subject to a restraining order - which is valid for another six years.
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Karolina felt 'terrified' when she discovered her former partner had uploaded naked images online. She has now praised Georgia Harrison ahead of her ITV documentary - 'Revenge Porn: Georgia vs. Bear' - and said the Stephen Bear case brought up 'a lot of complicated feelings' for her.
Karolina, a recent university graduate, from Lancaster, Lancashire, said: "I followed that case from beginning-to-end, and it made me so angry. Stephen Bear got a very similar sentence to Ben - and, like Ben, he showed absolutely no remorse.
"Women like Georgia Harrison shouldn't have to fight to prove something horrendous happened to them. It's our reality, every day. Why can't people just believe us?
"I think she's absolutely amazing for speaking out in the ITV documentary - if I had the same platform, I'd be doing the exact same thing.
"She's a brilliant example to women everywhere - especially the women who know exactly what she's going through. She's giving us a voice."
Karolina had been working in the accounts department for her local council when she met Ben in November 2017. He worked two floors above her - and later opened up to Karolina about his recent divorce via work email. She said she 'felt sorry for him' at the time.
After exchanging 'a handful' of emails with Ben, the pair began dating. In March 2018, they made their relationship official.
The couple 'experienced a number of ups and downs' in the eight months they were together - and Karolina says Ben showed 'a number of insecurities'.
She claims he would show up unannounced on her nights out with friends, and 'repeatedly' asked her if she'd slept with men at work.
After Karolina returned from a rugby match, she realised something appearing to be a 'watch battery' had fallen out of her boot.
After escaping the relationship in February 2019, Karolina's friends and family members were followed by an Instagram account Ben had created, using her full name.
The account posted 'countless' naked photos and videos - captioning them with words like 'whore'.
Karolina reported the abuse to the police, a revenge porn charity, and Ben was arrested in September 2019.
On 26th November 2019, he was sentenced to 25 months in prison after being found guilty on one count of stalking causing serious alarm or distress, which included an offence for disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress. He was sentenced in Basildon Crown Court, Essex, and was was released on November 5, 2021.
She says the ordeal left her with a depression diagnosis - and she's 'constantly worrying' Ben will turn his attention to other women.
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