The term “revenge porn” describes the act of sharing a private, sexual image or video in order to harm the person exposed in the material. The rise in the incidence of revenge porn led to California recently adding a law making certain instances of sharing intimate images a crime.
What consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes is none of the government’s business. Revenge porn, however, brings the issue of consent into question. And, by definition, revenge porn means the actions have left the confines of a private home.
Revenge Porn Is a Crime if the Material Is Meant To Remain Private
For a prosecutor to convict you under California’s revenge porn law, you must have intentionally distributed content that was meant to remain private. The image or video was created with the victim’s consent, but, crucially, the victim did not consent to sharing the intimate content. Instead, you must have understood there was an expectation of privacy in creating and retaining the material. Additionally, distributed does not mean you sold or transferred the image, only that you purposely showed the material to others.
There Must Be Sexual Content or Intimate Body Parts
A conviction for revenge porn requires that the intentionally distributed image showed an identifiable person either:
- Engaged in an act of
- sexual intercourse;
- Oral copulation;
- Sodomy;
- Sexual penetration; or,
- Masturbation; or,
- Revealing a private body part, such as:
- Genitals;
- Anus; or,
- Female breasts below the top of the nipple.
For the person in the image to be “identifiable,” it only has to be probable another person could identify them. It does not necessarily require their face to appear in the material.
Criminal Revenge Porn Requires the Victim Suffer Emotional Distress
Even if you intentionally distribute an illicit image of an identifiable person that was understood to be private, revenge porn is only a crime if it also caused the victim to suffer emotional distress. To be guilty under California’s revenge porn law, you must have known, or you should have known, that distribution of the image would lead to emotional distress.
You can defend yourself from a charge of revenge porn by proving that you did not know or understand it would cause the victim emotional distress. Another defense is that you believed there was no expectation of privacy. For example, if you had always shown similar photos to a friend with the victim’s encouragement, or if you intended the image to be humorous and not harmful, you may not be guilty under the revenge porn law.
A Revenge Porn Conviction Is a Misdemeanor
The maximum penalties for a first-time revenge porn conviction in California are up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine.
- If you have prior revenge porn convictions
- or the victim was underage
, the possible jail time and fine can both double.
Be aware that each individual material distributed can be charged as a separate criminal offense. If multiple images or videos were shared, charges can add up quickly, as could the potential jail time. Retaining an experienced criminal defense attorney should be your first response to any accusations of revenge porn.
If someone is accusing you of distributing revenge porn in Huntington Beach, California, The Chambers Law Firm can help. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free consultation with a member of our skilled legal team.
