A jealous management consultant who posted naked photos of her former partner online and hijacked his Alexa to scare off his new lover was spared jail today.
Phillipa Copleston-Warren, 46, told the sobbing girlfriend to leave her ex-boyfriend’s Lincolnshire home through the voice-controlled device and flashed his house lights off and on.
She also accessed his Facebook account from more than 100 miles away and posted naked photos of him online that spread as far as Pakistan, leaving him feeling ‘violated’, a London court was told.
The victim also told of how his reputation, which he had spent 30 years building, was destroyed in a matter of minutes following the leak.
A judge reprimanded Copleston-Warren’s actions as ‘nasty, mean and destructive’ after she admitted to the disclosing of a private sexual photograph with intent to cause distress.
She was handed a three month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months and given a seven year restraining order against the victim at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday.
She also accessed his Facebook account from more than 100 miles away and posted naked photos of him online that spread as far as Pakistan , leaving him feeling ‘violated’. Pictured: Ms Copleston-Warren at Isleworth Crown Court, London
Phillipa Copleston-Warren, 46, told the sobbing girlfriend to leave her ex-boyfriend’s Lincolnshire home through the voice-controlled device and flashed his house lights off and on
A judge reprimanded Copleston-Warren’s (left) actions as ‘nasty, mean and destructive’ as he handed her a suspended prison sentence
The businessman was at his Lincolnshire home at the time with a female friend after recently splitting with Copleston-Warren after a two year relationship.
Liam Gregory, prosecuting, told the court that the victim had returned home to his home with his new girlfriend in October 2019.
He said Copleston-Warren accessed Alexa whilst they were at the property and spoke through the device to tell the victim’s friend to leave and take her stuff.
The bedside lamp was ‘turned on and off remotely by Ms Copleston-Warren’ in a bid to scare the new girlfriend.
Later that day, he received various different text messages about how the defendant was going to disclose photos, naked photos and upload them to his Facebook.
The victim had been unaware that the image had been posted until he received concerned messages from friends and family close to him.
Copleston-Warren sent the victim a message saying: ‘You might also want to remove your naked picture off Facebook.’
She was also able to see the victim’s new girlfriend in the house and used the app remotely to speak to the new girlfriend on Alexa and tell her to get out.
The consultant then used the app to turn the bedside table lamp on and off before posting the nude image on social media with the caption: ‘Do I look fat??? My daily question’.
Copleston-Warren sat in the dock at Isleworth Crown Court with a diabetic alert dog today as she was sentenced.
Judge John Denniss told her there were ‘elements of jealousy, revenge and irrational behaviour which led to fury-like behaviour in you.
‘I pick up the word fury because it comes from the aphorism ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’
‘Here there are elements of that fury. What you did was nasty, mean and destructive.’
The new girlfriend burst into tears and fled the property in Lincolnshire following the alleged Alexa (file image pictured) hacking in October, Isleworth Crown Court heard
Copleston-Warren sat in the dock at Isleworth Crown Court with a diabetic alert dog (above) on Wednesday as she was sentenced
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the man said he felt ‘completely violated’ over the act which had ‘significant impact on my physical and mental health’.
He has said he felt ‘completely violated’ after the nude photo went viral and reached contacts and family members as far as Pakistan.
He continued: ‘I have had depression and anxiety, find it difficult to sleep and cannot leave home and socialise as before.
‘I feel a great feeling sense of shame and I’ve had to heighten security of my home.’
The victim said he has been suffered ‘recurring heart palpitations.’
Defending, Jacob Bindman had explained how the Alexa system was set up jointly between Copleston-Warren and the victim when they lived at his Lincolnshire home.
They had an ‘agreement’ in which she would check in on the dog using those systems, said the barrister.
‘She was not hacking into the system, she was not snooping on him. It was a joint account,’ he said.
He also described how Copleston-Warren suffered trauma and difficulty over the past two years which the judge said was ‘ironic’.
Copleston-Warren (pictured) hacked into her ex-boyfriend’s voice-activated smart device Alexa from 130 miles away to force his new girlfriend to leave, a court heard
Ms Copleston-Warren’s victim said he felt ‘completely violated’ after the nude photo went viral and reached contacts and family members as far as Pakistan
Mr Bindman said she has ‘paid a personal price with her reputation’ and she will be removed from any charitable causes she was involved with before due to coverage of the case.
Sentencing her, Judge Denniss told Copleston-Warren: ‘What you did was nasty, mean and destructive.
‘There was considerable planning. It was not just impulse.
‘For example, having downloaded the photograph, you changed the password on the Facebook system and the other social media programmes set up. You must have planned for this photo to be seen by as many people as possible.
‘He (the victim) said he had spent thirty years building up respect, which he lost in a couple of minutes.
‘There is a clear cultural difference between the distress you have caused to somebody who was not from Pakistan to someone who is, and I’m echoing his sentiments.’
Christian Meikle, from the CPS, said: ‘Phillipa Copleston-Warren carried out a grave invasion of privacy. She left her victim feeling completely violated in his own home and online.
‘Copleston-Warren did not take the image down when asked to do so and changed the password of the account to delay the victim gaining access.
‘She also gloated about her actions on a WhatsApp group and threatened to send the nude image further afield to friends and business partners of the victim. The photo was eventually taken down by Facebook after it was reported as inappropriate.
‘Posting naked images online in an act of revenge is illegal and offenders will be brought to justice.
‘I hope this prosecution encourages others who have been affected by this type of conduct to come forward in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect, and that their reports will be taken seriously.
‘The CPS is committed to tackling crimes of this nature.’
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