Man handed down collective nine-year jail term for recording, sharing indecent videos

A court has handed down a collective sentence of nine years to a man for making and sharing obscene photos and videos of a woman TikToker.

Judicial Magistrate (East) Yusra Ashfaq found Lutuf Ali guilty of committing offences punishable under the sections 20 (offence against dignity of a natural person), 21 (offence against modesty of a natural person and minor) and 24 (cyberstalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016.

She awarded three years imprisonment for each offence to the convict and also ordered him to pay a collective fine of Rs60,000. In case of failure to pay the fine, he would have to undergo additional one-month imprisonment.

In her detailed judgement, the magistrate observed that the motive of the accused appeared to be rooted in a combination of exploitation and control.

"After initially engaging with the complainant for professional purposes related to TikTok videos and a telefilm, the accused allegedly drugged and inappropriately touched her, while secretly recording obscene material without her consent," she noted.

"The evidence suggests that the accused later used this explicit content to exert power over the complainant, distributing it to others and using it as a means of harassment and intimidation. The digital trail, including the transmission of these materials via WhatsApp, indicates that the accused's actions were deliberate and aimed at manipulating or possibly extorting the complainant, highlighting a clear intent to harm and degrade her,” reads the order.

The magistrate observed that on the basis of both the documentary and oral evidence, it was clear that the prosecution had successfully proved the charge against the accused and demonstrated that he tarnished the dignity of the woman and her family, violated her modesty, created and distributed obscene videos without her consent, and displayed them publicly.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Prosecutor Sheraz Rajpar contended that the woman, who was a TikToker, collaborated with the accused in various projects, especially shooting TikTok videos and telefilm. During the course of one project, he said, the woman and her mother were drugged by the accused, who later took her obscene images and videos with his mobile phone and shared them with a person, Ramazan, via WhatsApp.

He said two mobile phones were recovered from the possession of the accused, leading to the recovery of the obscene material from one of the devices.

The prosecutor contended that oral as well as forensic evidence corroborated the prosecution’s case, requesting the judge to punish the accused as per the law.

During her testimony, the victim stated that in June, 2021, she and her mother travelled to Larkana with the accused arriving there at 6am. She said they stayed at his cousin's house and after breakfast, they went to Moen-jo-Daro to shoot a video, which continued till nightfall.

The woman said that later that evening, they struggled to find a hotel for dinner and lodging before returning to the cousin's house. The accused eventually claimed to have arranged a room at a hotel and offered them a place to rest. He also offered intoxicated juices to the two women, which they drank and lost consciousness.

The woman said while she was semi-conscious, she felt the accused touching her inappropriately, adding that he also recorded and shared that objectionable material without her consent.

In a statement recorded under the Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the accused denied the prosecution’s allegations.