Man faces raps for spreading nude photos of former girlfriend

CEBU CITY –- Cindy (not her real name) considered her lover as a “king” and called him “sweetie.”

But she was just “blinded by love,” according to her affidavit. Reality struck her when she started living with John (not his real name).

There were times John locked her inside their room and wouldn’t allow her to go out when they fought.

She broke up with John last year, saying she could no longer bear the latter’s jealousy.

“I thought he cared for me too,” said Cindy.

John continued to send text messages to her, asking for money to finance his planned lending business and for food supply. He threatened Cindy after the latter refused to give what he asked for.

Last August 14, Cindy received a call from her employer, who received a nude photo of herself through email. Her estranged husband later informed her that he received the same picture.

For circulating Cindy’s nude photos, John will face trial in court after he was charged by the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutor Jose Nathaniel Andal found evidence to indict John for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9995, or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009, and RA 9262, or the Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.

Bail was set at P38,000 for the accused.

Before the photos spread last August 14, John demanded P10,000 from Cindy. The accused said if Cindy won’t move before 5 p.m., he would make her weep blood.

“I was so scared because I did not know what he meant by that,” she said.

Then Cindy received the news from her employer and her husband that nude photos of her were being circulated. She believed the accused hacked her email account and sent the photos to her contacts.

The next day, John called Cindy and he demanded P10,000 again. John said that if she refused, he would post their sex videos and more nude photos on the Internet.

If she pays John, the latter promised to return to her all the files he saved in a memory card.

Cindy reported the matter to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Central Visayas, which then conducted an entrapment against the accused.

A team of NBI agents eventually caught John inside a fast-food joint along V. Rama Ave., Cebu City last August 22.

In his counter-affidavit, John denied the allegations. He said he did not demand money and Cindy was the one who kept the files of her nude photos and sex videos.

He also said his arrest was a frame-up. He said he would just return to Cindy a disc containing their “wholesome” pictures to end their “illicit” affair.

But the accused only offered a defense of general denial, which Andal said he failed to substantiate with convincing evidence.

Cindy said she and John occasionally saw each other until they had a relationship on June 12, 2009. They had been classmates in elementary and high school.

“We rented a house…I paid the rent and all expenses of the utilities, groceries, among others. He practically lived like a king,” she said. (KAL of Sun.Star Cebu)