At first glance, the entries in *Ashley’s calendar blended in with the usual work shifts, appointments and personal events expected to fill a 21-year-old’s time.
However, her scheduled catch-ups with a man named Malachi Turnbull masked a dark reality.
The pair had a friendship which grew distant when the Sydney woman became increasingly busy. But time and time again, Ashley was pulled back into Turnbull’s orbit as he weaponised intimate content stolen off her phone.
Between January and March this year, 21-year-old Turnbull coerced Ashley into maintaining regular contact with him by publicly posting intimate photos of her – alongside her phone number – and threatening to share sexual videos of her and her ex-partner.
The harrowing case has prompted warnings about the prevalence and growing complexities of image-based abuse, also called “revenge porn”.
The material was stolen through an abuse of trust. Ashley had asked Turnbull to help her set up her new phone. In the process, he took screenshots of various usernames and passwords for her social media and other applications which she had saved for her own memory.
He kept the content secret until the pair’s friendship became strained by Ashley’s unavailability.
To avenge the lack of attention, Turnbull would blast Ashley with up to 100 texts a day, demand to know why she was ignoring him and hurl offensive and derogatory language at her when she did not respond.
One morning, Ashley woke to find Turnbull had changed his Instagram profile picture and story to “what seemed to be a slightly blurred photo of the victim’s naked torso … between the neck to the hip”, an agreed fact sheet read.
Her phone number was listed on Turnbull’s Instagram “bio”. The rattled woman begged for the content’s removal, but Turnbull refused.
The following day, Ashley received messages from Turnbull containing a screen recording of her ‘My eyes only folder’ on Snapchat. This included intimate graphic imagery and videos of her and her ex-partner.
Turnbull agreed to delete the material “only through [Ashley] promising that she will give him more attention” through regular physical and emotional contact, the fact sheet read. This extended to an agreed schedule of meet-ups. The images disappeared from his profile, but her phone number remained public.
Then began a “constant cycle” of manipulation and control which made Ashley “anxious, nervous, upset and emotionally stressed”. Eventually, she cracked and told Turnbull she could no longer cope with his demands. Furious, Turnbull told her never to speak to him again.
Just as Ashley began to break free from Turnbull’s grip, she received a disturbing Instagram message. It read: “I know you ignore my messages, but you might not want to ignore this”.
Turnbull emailed her a screenshot of a draft text to her younger brother, accompanying a video of what was believed to be a graphic intimate video of her and her ex-partner.
Feeling terrified, the woman reported him to police.
Turnbull was arrested two weeks later at Surry Hills. He was granted bail and later pleaded guilty to non-consensually recording, distributing and threatening to distribute an intimate image.
Turnbull’s sentence was adjourned this month for a mental health application. His lawyer accepted the charges were serious, but said his client had been receiving mental health treatment.
The case returns to court in May.
‘Sadistic’ case of image-based abuse
Domestic and family violence expert Dr Xanthe Weston said this pattern of image-based abuse was a common form of coercive control used to cause humiliation, punishment and reputation damage.
Image-based abuse is the illegal sharing, or threats to share, an intimate image or video of a person without their consent.
While the crime is most often seen in the context of intimate ex-partners, the associate professor of criminology at Central Queensland University said it can arise in many types of relationships.
Weston added that there was still a disturbing, “sadistic pleasure” element to Turnbull’s offending, even though there was no sexual relationship with the victim. It also followed many hallmark characteristics of image-based abuse, including threats to keep the victim quiet – a tactic young people were more susceptible to.
“These crimes can have a huge psychological impact on victims, causing them to lose jobs and homes; it is really damaging,” Weston said.
Stigma and victim-blaming were still prevalent in society, Weston said. Shame and embarrassment could prevent victims from reporting to authorities, when these emotions should only lay with perpetrators.
Adding to the complexity was the explosion of AI – a problem accelerating faster than laws.
“We are in a brave new world where we have to figure out how to protect ourselves,” Weston said.
“Sometimes we don’t even know who we’re looking at and whether they are real.”
Collect evidence, block contact and report, safety agency urges
The eSafety Commissioner encourages its victims, or others who witness the crime, to report the act to the agency as well as police.
The online safety agency can contact online platforms or services to have the content removed or threats stopped, including shutting down accounts.
However, due to the volume of reports, the agency prioritises complaints that “require the quickest compliance and enforcement action”, its website says.
It advises victims to confide in a friend or family member and collect as much evidence as possible, including screenshots and information about perpetrators’ contact. It notes it is a crime to save or share nudes or sexual images or videos of anyone under 18.
The agency recommends victims block offenders where possible and tighten online security.
*Ashley is a pseudonym
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