Disgraced reality star Stephen Bear has repaid the £22,305 that he illegally earned by sharing a private sex tape of him and reality TV star Georgia Harrison online.
The former Celebrity Big Brother winner, 34, faced nine months in prison if he did not pay the sum within three months of the order made by judge Christopher Morgan in March of this year.
The judge made the order at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, after Bear walked out of prison in January, having served 10-and-a-half months of his 21 month sentence for sharing the film.
Bear was jailed in March last year after being found guilty of voyeurism and of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed that Bear has since paid the £22,305 confiscation order in full.
Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Debbie Price said: ‘It is right Stephen Bear has paid the full amount of his confiscation order – it’s important criminals understand that, aside from the sentence they receive, we will also go after their bank accounts and assets to prevent them from enjoying the money they made from their crimes.’
Separately, the judge ordered that Bear pay Ms Harrison £5,000 in compensation, which he said ‘can be enforced through the magistrates’ court’ if it is ‘not satisfied’.
Ms Harrison said at the Proceeds of Crime Act hearing in March this year that Bear had ‘sold his house from prison – he sold his house to a company called We Buy Any House for well under market value’.
The court had previously heard that Bear had not shown a ‘scrap of remorse’ for his actions and had not paid ‘one penny’ in compensation for the emotional and financial damage Ms Harrison had suffered after he posted the intimate film online.
Ms Harrison told the court how fashion brands had abandoned her after the sex-tape was published on Bear’s OnlyFans site, costing her at least £30,000 in cancelled contracts.
Essex Police said half of the confiscation order money goes to the Home Office, with the rest divided between the CPS, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the police.
The force said that, of the funds given to the police, different commands are able to ‘bid for equipment that will contribute towards future asset recovery’ and a contribution is made to grant-giving body the Essex Community Foundation.
Ms Harrison has become a campaigner against revenge porn and violence since Bear’s trial. In October last year, she appeared on stage at Labour’s conference in Liverpool to demand that abuse cases are given priority in courts.
She said it took two years from the day she reported the crime for Bear to be convicted and warned about the impact of long legal processes on victims of other crimes, such as rape and domestic abuse.
Following Bear’s conviction, she spoke out about her pride in the changes to the law surrounding revenge porn and his landmark imprisonment.
At the time of his release in January, Ms Harrison was starring in the latest series of Love Island: All Stars villa, where she found love with her new boyfriend Anton Danyluk.
After learning of his release, Ms Harrison said: ‘Honestly, I feel protected by the law, I’ve got a restraining order on him, so he can’t come near me and he can’t speak about me.
‘I think everyone deserves to rehabilitate themselves and to find a way to become a better person and I truly hope for him that is the case.
‘Apart from that. I don’t think I’ll be overthinking it and I’m just going to take it day by day, but just try not to let my past, encroach on my present moment.’
Stephen must wear an ankle tag throughout the second half of his sentence.
A restraining order bans him from contacting Georgia for five years and he must also keep police informed of his whereabouts for a decade.