A jilted boyfriend has been put on the sex offenders register after he posted an image of his ex girlfriend on Facebook in an act of revenge porn.

Andrew King, from Kingsteignton, sent the indecent photograph of his 17-year-old ex-partner to one of her friends as a Facebook message after she ended their relationship.

The 34-year-old was sent on a sex offenders course after a Judge at Exeter Crown Court branded his actions as mean and hurtful.

Andrew King, of Furze Cap, Kingsteignton, admitted distributing an indecent image of a child and was jailed for nine months, suspended for two years, and ordered to undertake a sex offenders’ course as part of two years supervision.

Judge Graham Cottle also ordered him to sign on the sex offenders’ register for ten years.

He told him: "When your relationship broke down acrimoniously, this is the way in which you responded. It was mean, nasty and very hurtful to her. It is what is known nowadays as revenge porn."

Francesca Whebell, prosecuting, said King received the image on his phone when he was still in a relationship with the girl and sent it by Facebook to a friend of hers after they broke up a year ago.

She said it was a private Facebook message to a third party and the recipient was another young woman who knew the teenager.

The image had probably been recorded and sent by mobile phone.

William Parkhill, defending, said the image was of a 17-year-old rather than a child and had only been sent to one person. He said a probation report recommended a course to address King’s attitudes and behaviour.