INTIMATE pictures of more than 30 young women from Swindon have been posted to a ‘revenge porn’ website in a gross invasion of their privacy.

Many of the photos show girls in various states of nudity. Some are believed to have been underage at the time they were taken.

Often the pictures were sent and shared with partners by young people who mistook the momentary trust of a romantic relationship for a long-term guarantee of secrecy.

Users of the site – which we will not name so as not to further contribute to its growth – hide behind anonymous usernames, request pictures of specific girls by name, and congratulate one another when new content is uploaded. They call it ‘a win’.

But for those young women whose privacy has been so brutally invaded, nothing could be further from the truth.

Maria* was 15 when she sent photos to a boyfriend on her mobile phone. It was a reciprocal arrangement, the sort of exchange that is becoming increasingly common. In some of the pictures she was completely nude.

But the relationship broke down and within a year the pictures were on the internet.

“I was horrified,” she said. “I put my trust in my ex-partner, not only with my feelings but also my body. I felt ashamed.

“It makes me feel dirty – you never know if somebody is staring at you because they’ve seen your underage body on a website.

“They put your name and where you’re from, they even try to sell the pictures. My photos were on a ‘Swindon girls’ page. I found half of my friends list on there.

“The police say they take this seriously, but when we reported it to them it felt like we weren’t really being listened to. They said they couldn’t prove who had posted the pictures.

“The site is still there and everybody knows about it. We all have reputations and we’re always looking over our shoulders.

"I’m afraid people are staring at me because they’ve seen those photos - that was never what I intended when I sent them to my partner.

“I’m glad they’re trying to educate young people about it but when they can’t get this stuff taken down it feels like it’s pointless.”

Officers interviewed Maria’s ex-partner but, as in so many similar cases, a lack of evidence made it difficult for them to pursue further.

The site in question also appears to regularly archive itself and migrate to a subtly different domain name making it difficult for the authorities to tackle.

Maria’s friend Sarah* was 18 when she uploaded nude photos of herself to a private blog that she used as a diary. She also uploaded an intimate video.

The password was only shared with a select few people but that didn’t stop content ending up on the same ‘Swindon girls’ page.

“I never gave permission for that video to become public,” said Sarah. “I felt violated, I was really angry. I didn’t think the people I trusted were capable of doing anything that horrible.

“I check the site every day even now because I’m so paranoid about it. I get messages from people sending me my own nudes – people I don’t know.

“These lads think the internet gives them invincibility but it’s not ok – they’re ruining girls’ lives. I think that when the police aren’t able to prosecute people it sends a message that you can get away with this stuff.

“People who I asked for help told me I shouldn’t have shared that stuff in the first place – but it was too late for that by then.

“It was a lesson for me. You never know where what you share or upload might end up.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We take revenge pornography seriously and will pursue all lines of inquiry and use the new legislation to prosecute people where appropriate.

“We will deal sympathetically with anybody reporting such an incident, we will offer support and treat the case with total confidence along with assessing each case to see what we can do to help. Where no offence has been committed we can still offer advice, including how victims might seek a civil remedy for defamation.

“We would encourage anyone who has been subject to revenge pornography and is worried or afraid by what has been done to contact either the police or a relevant victims group, such as the National Stalking Helpline.”

Ingrid Anson, NSPCC Swindon Service Centre Manager, said: “Sharing nude selfies or videos can put young people at risk of bullying by peers or being targeted by adult sex offenders, so it’s vital that parents talk to their children and that young people feel empowered to say no to sexting requests.

“We realise that this can be an embarrassing or awkward conversation for both parents and children, so the NSPCC has created a guide for families about the risks of sexting, what the law says, and what to do if a child has shared a nude image that is being circulated online or among their peers.”

The guide is available at www.nspcc.org.uk/sexting. Children and young people can also contact Childline free, 24 hours a day on 0800 1111 or get help at www.childline.org.uk.

* The names in this article have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.