Revenge Porn – Is It Legal?

Scorned ex-lovers have taken to the Internet to shame and expose the women who have broken their hearts. In this century’s version of blackmail, revenge porn has become rampant across the country. The perpetrators (mostly men) submit explicit images of the ones who used to trust them to websites dedicated to revenge porn. The images often times link to the victim’s social media pages and include personal information such as address, phone number, and email. Disgusting and offensive? Absolutely. But is it illegal?

The website, UGotPosted.com, launched in December of 2012. The website developer is a 28 year old from San Diego named Kevin Bollaert. Since its launch about two years ago, the site has accumulated over 10,000 nude photos of mostly women. If victims want their photos to be taken down, they have to go through Bollaert’s second website, ChangeMyReputation.com. They must pay $300 to $350 for the photos to be removed. He has made tens of thousands of dollars through this horrific website.

The two sites have since been shut down.

Bollaert was arrested December 2013 after a new law passed in California prohibiting the distribution of nude photos without the person’s consent. The law was passed in October 2013. The law makes posting identifiable nude photos without consent a misdemeanor. A person will also be convicted if they are guilty of intent to cause emotional distress or humiliation to the victim.

Bollaert was found guilty of 27 counts, which included identity theft and extortion. The San Diego County Superior Court jury was not able to reach verdicts on two of the counts, including identity theft and conspiracy, and the judge pronounced a mistrial on them. Either way, Bollaert is now facing up to 20 years in prison.

Bollaert’s lawyer, Emily Rose-Weber, attempted to defend his actions by claiming he is just a web developer. Because he did not post the photos himself, he is in no way guilty of breaking the new law. She also added that although he took advantage of “human weakness,” developing an outlet for angry ex’s is not illegal. The statute states that charges can be held only against the person who actually took the photo. But, he was still convicted of identity theft and six counts of extortion.

At the moment, only 16 states have enacted laws to protect victims of revenge porn. Florida is in the process of legitimizing a similar law.