A lawyer who left a businesswoman feeling suicidal after sending a video of their sex to her colleagues has avoided jail.
David West, 38, gained access to the video when he submitted a digital access request after claiming he was preparing to face a defamation lawsuit.
After receiving the file in one of thousands of emails, he sent the video back to generic inboxes at her workplaces, knowing multiple people would be able to see it.
The senior litigation counsel, who earns £43,000 a year, has admitted to sending a malicious communication with the intent of causing fear or anxiety at Truro Crown Court.
Nigel Wraith, the prosecutor, told the court that the victim had communicated with West through her business email.
But in subsequent emails, he threatened “with epic proportions” to retaliate against claims he had been branded as “a thief.”
West then filed a Digital Subject Access Request (DSAR) with the woman’s company, requiring them to send any data they had about him, including any emails they exchanged.
Thousands of emails were sent to him, including one in which West and the victim committed an intimate sexual act.
In the private email, West falsely told the woman that he didn’t want any sex photos of her, but he added the video and said she could “add it to your collection.”
After West received the video following his data request, West then sent it back as an attachment to a general company email inbox at her company — which he knew would be seen by others.
David West (pictured outside Truro Crown Court) left a businesswoman suicidal after he sent a video of their sex to her colleagues
Wraith said, “When she received the email stating what had happened, she was shocked that others might have seen it.
“She went to the police station and was beside herself with distress and embarrassment.”
Later that same day, West sent a second digital topic access request to an international company the victim worked for, again knowing that the email contained the sex video and would be seen by her bosses.”
Michael Brown, on the defensive, said West deliberately intended to inflict fear and distress on the victim in an act of “pungent and childish”.
And in a victim statement, the woman wept as she said, “David did what he said he would do, humiliate me publicly. I’ve never been so humiliated.
‘I became suicidal, couldn’t handle people, felt sick, couldn’t sleep and was constantly anxious. He got what he wanted.
“The reputational damage has brought me and my company to their knees.”
She described the catastrophic financial impact on her business and how she and her daughter became nearly homeless.
Judge Anna Richardson, who handed down the sentence, told West that the victim suffered “enormous psychological damage” and felt suicidal because of the humiliation she had suffered at his hands.
She added: “You sent threatening emails to the victim and submitted a digital access request to her company.
“It appears you are suggesting that the request was to see if you were able to sue for defamation. How getting work emails would have helped with this I don’t understand.
“As a result, the victim and her company went through a lot of emails. You sent a very manipulative email saying you don’t want private videos. You sent an email intended to humiliate her and at the same time create a false impression.”
West, of Hayle, Cornwall, was sentenced to 57 weeks in prison, with a two-year suspension at Truro Crown Court (pictured)
The judge told the court how West attached and sent the sex video knowing other people in the company would see it before making a second similar request.
She continued: “You sent a very manipulative email saying you didn’t want private videos.
“You sent an email intended to humiliate her and at the same time create a false impression. Your behavior has caused enormous psychological damage.’
West, of Hayle, Cornwall, was sentenced to 57 weeks in prison, with two years on probation.
He was also ordered to pay his victim £2,000 in damages and £1,000 in court costs. A five-year restraining order was issued preventing him from contacting her.
The court heard that West had a low risk of recidivism, the crime was back in 2018, and he had no relevant previous convictions.
West – who says on his Linkedin page that he is an LSW consultant – has been formally acquitted of disclosing a private sexual photo or film without the victim’s consent.