A man who shared private footage of his former partner in the nude without her consent was handed a suspended sentence upon arraignment on Saturday.

The 33-year old German national living in Gżira, whose name was withheld to protect the identity of the victim, was escorted to court on Saturday afternoon after landing under arrest over allegations of revenge porn.

The matter was flagged to the police's Domestic Violence Unit after the man’s ex herself learnt about the footage being shared by her former partner.

That pornographic material, first shared by her ex with a friend, ended up being shared within a close and limited circle of friends on social media, triggering criminal charges against the accused.

Upon arraignment, the accused pleaded guilty to disclosing private sexual footage without the woman’s consent, with intent to cause her distress or harm, misuse of electronic communications equipment and attempting to use force with intent to insult, annoy or hurt the victim.

He was further charged with having failed to report the loss of his foreign passport to the relative authorities.

The man registered an admission.

When making submissions on bail defence lawyer Daniel Attard pointed out that the material in question had not been shared on an open platform but within a limited group, with a minimal number of shares.

Moreover, the accused had an untainted criminal record and had registered an early guilty plea, the court was told.

After hearing submissions by both parties the court, presided over by magistrate Elaine Mercieca, declared the accused guilty upon his own admission and condemned him to an 18-month jail term suspended for three years.

The court also issued a protection order in favour of the victim.

Inspectors Audrey Micallef and Marcus Cachia prosecuted.

Lawyer Daniel Attard was defence counsel.