Two UK Men Convicted in Separate OnlyFans Non-Consent Cases

In the first case, Alexander Tang, 37, took and uploaded 47 intimate images and four videos of a woman to the subscription platform without her consent. He pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism and was given a 26-week suspended prison sentence on Wednesday, with the court hearing that the money from the posts went directly into his bank account.

In the second case, Dean Holmes, 43, was found guilty of rape on Thursday at Bolton Crown Court after a four-day trial. The court heard that Holmes had coerced the woman to open an OnlyFans account to make money, isolated her from family and friends, and operated the account from his phone. He had pleaded guilty to assault and controlling and coercive behaviour earlier in the trial but denied the rape charge.

The cases follow warnings from domestic violence charities. Women's Aid, in its 2026 annual report, said the most common new form of tech-facilitated abuse its frontline teams were assisting with involved "young women being coerced to set up an OnlyFans account to generate income for their abusive partners." The Revenge Porn Helpline also said it had received reports from women coerced into creating content for OnlyFans and similar platforms.

During Holmes's trial, prosecutor Mark Kellet said the woman had told him that Holmes pressured her into posting intimate content and used the account to engage in text conversations with men. She initially posted bikini pictures but was told to upload much more explicit material. She later told Holmes she felt ashamed, saying: "I can't show my face after putting myself out there showing everything … I can't go back to work cos people will know and people seen me advertising myself." Holmes is due to be sentenced on 25 September.

In Tang's case, his victim discovered the posts after being contacted by several men who thought they had been speaking to her on social media and dating apps. She had no idea she was on these sites and later found profiles featuring naked images of her taken without permission. Tang had used a photograph of her ID to create the OnlyFans account; the images were later removed by the company during a routine moderation check.

In a statement read to the court, Tang's victim said: "I cannot get the images, the videos, or the degrading captions and comments associated with them out of my mind. Knowing that intimate images and videos of me were uploaded to dozens of websites, reposted and shared by strangers, is something I struggle with every day." Investigating officer Alex Pattinson said: "I am horrified by Alexander Tang's crime, which is a clear violation of this woman's expectation of privacy."

An OnlyFans spokesperson said: "OnlyFans has a zero tolerance policy for illegal content and invests heavily in measures to prevent our platform being abused in this way, including strict onboarding processes, payment controls and ongoing account moderation. We work closely with law enforcement and are proud of the work we do to support investigations and help secure convictions." Refuge, the UK's largest domestic abuse charity, said its staff had supported a number of survivors with cases involving the weaponisation of OnlyFans by perpetrators. Earlier this summer, Emma Pickering of Refuge said that while OnlyFans requires creators to submit proof of consent at upload, "for survivors to be properly protected from harm it is essential that this is robustly implemented and monitored."