Lytham man jailed after hacking woman's social media accounts to steal photographs

A man has been jailed after hacking into a woman's social media accounts to steal private images.

30-year-old Sam Partington, from Lytham, hacked into the victim's Snapchat and Facebook accounts and changed the login details to prevent her accessing her own accounts.

Partington, who knew the woman, also stole private images of her and stored copies on his own device.

An investigation by Cumbria Police found Partington's mobile phone also contained indecent images of children.

He was sentenced to 29 months in prison.

Detective Constable Jon Hill from Cumbria Constabulary's Cyber and Digital Crime Unit said: "Sam Partington used technology as a weapon to exert control. Given our growing reliance upon technology, cases of digitally-enabled domestic abuse are becoming more prevalent. However, they do remain under-reported.

"I hope that this result sends a clear message to victims, and would be offenders, that digitally- enabled domestic abuse will not be tolerated and the police will use all powers at our disposal to bring offenders to justice.

"I would urge anyone who has been a victim of any type of domestic abuse, to report this matter to the Constabulary via any of our reporting channels."

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