Police have charged a 20-year-old South Australian woman with a raft of charges stemming from allegations that she posted and distributed a nude video of former AFL Premiership player Dane Swan without his consent.
Victoria Police confirmed they had charged the woman, from Meadows in regional SA, with visually capturing genitalia and distribution of an intimate image, stemming from a video portraying Swan that circulated on social media a few months ago.
The video allegedly shows 34-year-old former Collingwood player Swan naked in bed with the woman.
The six-second video began circulating on social media in May, after which Swan reported the matter to police for investigation.
Swan, a former Brownlow Medalist who retired in 2016, issued a statement at the time that was read out by Collingwood president Eddie McGuire on The Footy Show, with Swan asserting the video was not a sex tape and that it was an egregious and illegal breach of his privacy.
Contrary to some media reports, the video is not a ‘sex tape’. Although the video was taken a long time ago, it has been posted and distributed only recently.
It was taken and distributed without my consent. As it is illegal to distribute such material online without consent I have reported the matter to police, who are investigating the distribution.
Victorian law dictates that it is illegal to share or post naked photos or video of another person without their consent. The anti-sexting laws were introduced in 2014, and remain some of the toughest ones in the country. The charges levelled against the 20-year-old woman carry a maximum of two years in prison.
She is scheduled to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 1st.
