Stephen Bear pays back £22,305 illegally earned from sharing Georgia Harrison sex tape

Stephen Bear has repaid the £22,305 that he earned illegally by sharing a private sex tape of himself and ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison online. In March, judge Christopher Morgan made a confiscation order at Chelmsford Crown Court, demanding it be paid within three months.

The shamed Celebrity Big Brother winner faced nine months in prison if he did not pay the five-figure sum. The judge made the order at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, after Bear walked out of prison in January, having served 10-and-a-half months of his 21-month sentence for sharing the film.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed that 34-year-old Bear has since paid the £22,305 confiscation order in full, so he will not be jailed.

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 reality TV star Ms Harrison £5,000 in compensation, which he said “can be enforced through the magistrates’ court” if it is “not satisfied”.

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.

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”.

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.

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