The residents and court system of California don't take revenge porn very lightly — the state is the first to convict and sentence someone for posting humiliating explicit material online. Kevin Christopher Bollaert is heading to jail under an 18-year sentence in first U.S. criminal prosecution of a revenge porn website operator.
Revenge porn involves posting or sharing sexually explicit images and videos of individuals – usually women – without their consent. The perpetrator will often attempt to blackmail the pictured individuals for money in exchange for taking down the media and other personal information.
A California court found Bollaert guilty in February on 21 counts of identify theft and six counts of extortion. Prosecutors claim the 27-year-old posted photos and sexually graphic content on his website UGotPosted.com without authorization and tried to get the individuals to pay money to take the content off the website.
Bollaert would encourage men to send naked pictures of their former partners for "revenge," which he would then upload to the site. California state law does not allow the posting of identifiable naked photos online in the event of a couple breaking up.
"Sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act, will not shield predators from the law or jail," said California Attorney General Kamala Harris in a statement.
The Federal Trade Commission handled a similar scenario involving Craig Brittain, who attempted to blackmail several women over images posted on his website. In settling with the FTC, Brittain was mandated to delete all images and data he received in the time frame during which he operated his site.
A third legal battle in revenge porn is being waged in Oklahoma, where the state is prosecuting a 28-year-old man who is charged with five felony extortion counts. Casey E. Meyering's trial is set to begin in early June.
In addition to his 18-year jail sentence, Bollaert has been ordered to pay $15,000 in damages to victims, and he also faces an additional $10,000 fine. During the time he ran the website, Bollaert reportedly posted more than 10,000 explicit photos of women, as well as their personal information ranging from social media accounts to home addresses, charging them up to $350 to take it down.
