A brave young woman whose ex-boyfriend secretly filmed her during sex has waived her anonymity to encourage other victims to come forward.

Megan Davies was just 16 when she started dating Lucas Smith, 17 at the time, while they were pupils at Allestree Woodlands School in Derby.

One night in July 2020, while they were having sex in Megan’s home, she heard a clicking noise.

When the now-20-year-old asked Smith what he was doing, he said he was texting a friend.

Megan said: ‘I took the phone and saw it was recording us and then scrolled back and saw all of these intimate videos of the two of us having sex. I felt terrified.

‘I immediately thought he was going to do something with the videos but then he started crying and saying “I am sorry”. I ended up having to comfort him about it.

‘That evening everyone else in my house was asleep and Lucas and I just did not discuss it. Then he suddenly blocked me and the relationship was over, that was it.’

It took Megan a year to find the courage to report what had happened to her to the police.

She said: ‘I was really scared, it was really embarrassing because it’s a sensitive thing, I was scared the videos would be on the internet, that was my main concern then.’

When Smith was arrested, police found two phones. Officers believe he had smashed one with a hammer to try and get rid of any evidence while refusing to hand over the pin to the other.

Megan had to wait another two years but the case was eventually taken to Derby Crown Court, where Smith, now 21, pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism.

He was sentenced last month when he was handed a nine-month community order and put on the sex offender’s register.

Megan said: ‘When it did come to court I was ready to give evidence but I was told a few days before he was pleading guilty.

‘I think he expected me not to turn up. But I was always going to. He had taken my voice for so long and it was his turn to listen and answer to me.’

Now, the fine art student at the University of Leeds wants other victims to know there is hope for justice.

She said: ‘I feel very empowered now talking out about it, I think it shows to decent people that victims are never going to go away and my message to any other woman who is or has been in the same position as me is that people will listen to you and believe you and your voice will be heard.

‘It is such a hard crime to prove but you can reach out for help. There are people who will listen to and believe them.

‘The police will believe you, I will believe you because I have lived with this for three years.

‘The police worked really hard in the face of many obstacles that he put in the way to gather the evidence to convict him.

‘My mum and best friend, who were also going to have to give evidence had it gone to trial, were always there for me every step of the way.’

Charities which help with digital sex abuse:

• SV2 – You can email them on [email protected] or call on 01773 746115
• Safety and Security Online has a revenge porn helpline – you can call on on 0345 6000 459 

The Metropolitan Police have a list of other major charities which offer help with sexual violence.

Megan praised the Derbyshire charity SV2, which works with victims of sexual abuse and violence, for supporting her throughout the process.

She believes schools need to step up and help teach people that filming someone intimately, without their consent, is illegal.

Megan said: ‘I was going to school every day and did not know he had these videos of me.

‘I think schools maybe need to have sessions with pupils to educate them about this kind of behaviour and to tell them that doing something like this is a crime and will see you charged and possibly even sent to prison.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article