Jacob Marshall, also known as Jacob Sommers, pleaded guilty to two charges before he was sentenced in the Magistrates Court. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to sexual offences.
The revenge porn a man sent was a form of retaliation and control against his victim, a court heard before he was handed a months-long jail sentence.
Jacob Marshall, a 30-year-old who is also known as Jacob Sommers, pleaded guilty to two counts of the non-consensual distribution of intimate images on Wednesday (21 January).
The ACT Magistrates Court heard that the woman, who was not in a relationship with him, had sent him the photos years earlier, before they got into an argument in May 2025.
“Still, don’t forget I’ve got photos of you,” he told her.
“You should be walking on eggshells when talking to me.”
She warned him that if he shared the photos, he would be in trouble with the law, but he still sent a naked photo of her to a person she knew.
That October, shortly after he was served a summons saying he would be charged for the first offence, he sent another naked photo of her to a different person she knew.
The woman, in a statement read to the court, spoke about the huge impact the offending had on her and also alleged Marshall had threatened to sexually assault her and harm a member of her family.
“He needs to be held accountable for his actions,” she said.
Her mother told the court it was “disgusting” that he threatened a person like her daughter.
“This man needs to be kept incarcerated … He is a predator,” she said.
Prosecutor Tahlia Drumgold said Marshall’s offences could be classified as revenge porn and argued he sent the photos as a form of retaliation.
She claimed he sent the second photo because she had gone to police about the first photo.
Ms Drumgold argued Marshall’s attitude towards women underpinned his offending and noted he appeared to engage in victim-blaming when speaking to the author of a pre-sentence report.
His defence lawyer, Manon McPherson of the Aboriginal Legal Service, said her client had remained in custody since he was arrested in October 2025.
She said he was exposed to significant disadvantage when he was a child, began drinking alcohol at 13 and using methamphetamine at 14.
He did have a prior criminal history, but not for like offences, so these two new charges were somewhat out of character for him, Ms McPherson said.
Magistrate Alexandra Burt said it would be very obvious to anyone that distributing an intimate image in the way Marshall did would at least cause humiliation, embarrassment and shame.
She said there was an aspect of controlling behaviour in how he distributed the photos, and that the tenor of his behaviour was threatening.
His telling the woman to walk on “eggshells” around him because he had the photos was a demonstration of the “power” he held over her by possessing the images, she said.
The magistrate also said she was cautious about the depth of his remorse.
“I do encourage you, Mr Sommers, to consider how you would feel in [your victim’s] shoes,” she told him.
He was sentenced to a total of 15 months’ jail with an eight-month non-parole period. As this was backdated to account for time served, he will be eligible for release in June 2026.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT on 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
If you have been affected by sexual violence, or someone you know has, you can report it to police by attending a police station or phoning 131 444.
Correct. When Summernats is contained within the gates of EPIC, the risk of fire is extremely low.… View