A WOMAN who posted naked pictures of her best friend in a 'revenge porn' attack on Snapchat has escaped with a community penalty.

A court heard yesterday how the victim went on to receive messages and phone calls from unknown men telling her she had been spotted on pornographic websites before abusing her and calling her ‘a sl*g.’

Lily Richards, of Kimmeridge Road, Cumnor, appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday having already admitted one count of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.

The court heard that the 21-year old had been best friends with her victim while they had been living together at a supported accommodation site in Carterton.

After her victim embarked on a relationship with another man who was also living at the accommodation Richards was made subject to ‘threats’ when the relationship between the trio turned sour.

It was these threats, the court heard, which prompted Richards to post naked pictures of her friend on Snapchat.

Summarising a victim personal statement prosecutors said that after the messages had been posted on the social media platform the victim, who was 17 at the time, received messages on Facebook telling her the images had been seen online.

She later received a call from a private number from an unknown man telling her that the naked pictures had been seen on a pornographic website before the caller verbally abused her, calling her a ‘sl*g’.

In her statement the victim said she was ‘shocked’ and ‘very emotional’ when she learned what had happened and that her friend had sent the pictures online.

In mitigation at the hearing Richard’s defence team said that Richards and her victim were ‘best friends’ and that she carried out the offence in response to ‘threats’ made against her.

Richards was ‘mortified and extremely remorseful’ at what she had done, the court heard, and the pictures would only have been visible on Snapchat for 24 hours.

Sentencing, presiding magistrate Jane Carlton-Smith called the offence ‘a horrible thing’ but said in light of Richards’ remorse and her young age she could pass a non-custodial sentence and order a community punishment.

She said: “This was a very serious offence what you did in sending these photographs.

“It was, for want of a better word, a horrible thing to do, very serious, and you recognise that, and you could have been sent to prison.

“But don’t worry you are not, it is the sort of thing people go to prison for so you need to understand that.

“You are very sorry about it and you realise it was a very stupid thing to do.”

Richards was made subject to a community order for one year to include 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and she must pay a victim surcharge of £85.