California’s Revenge Porn Law

San Jose Revenge Porn Lawyer And Santa Clara Child Pornography Attorney

Revenge porn is the nonconsensual sharing of nude or explicit images, generally online. Since 2013, it has been a crime in California. Often, revenge porn becomes an issue when a romantic relationship ends and one party seeks revenge, but a desire for revenge is not necessary for conviction. Sharing such images for money or others’ entertainment is sufficient, as long as the required elements of the crime are present.

Revenge Porn

Revenge porn is similar to, but distinct from, the crime of invasion of privacy, which is committed by secretly recording another person without his or her knowledge or consent. With revenge porn, the victim consents to the initial recording, but does not consent to the dissemination of the images. It generally occurs when a person shares sexual images with a romantic partner, then the relationship goes sour, and the former romantic partner seeks revenge, usually by distributing the images online.

A person commits violates California’s revenge porn statute when:

• A person has possession of a sexual image of another person;
• He or she intentionally distributes the image;
• There was an understanding that the image would be private;
• The perpetrator knows or should know that distribution would cause serious emotional distress; and
• The victim suffers serious emotional distress.

Sexual images include images of intimate body parts, including genitals, the anus, or female breasts, or images of a person or people engaged in sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or masturbation.

California’s law criminalizing revenge porn was passed in 2013, and initially had some glaring gaps. The law required that for conviction, the perpetrator must be the one who made the recordings. Thus, if the picture was a selfie, or if a third party, such as an ex’s friend, distributed the images, the perpetrator could not be charged. Selfies, however, constitute about 80 percent of such images, so the law was relatively ineffectual. But in 2014, a bill was passed removing the requirement that the perpetrator take the photos or video. Now, in order for conviction, the perpetrator must simply possess and distribute the images.

Exceptions

There are three statutory exceptions to the revenge porn law. A person may not be convicted if the dissemination of the images was:

• In the course of reporting an unlawful activity;
• Under a subpoena or court order; or
• In the course of a lawful public proceeding.

So, for example, photographic evidence of rape given to the police, though the subject did not consent to distribution, would not be criminally punishable.

Penalties

A violation of the revenge porn law is a misdemeanor in California. For a first offense, it is punishable by any combination of up to six months in jail, probation, and fine of up to $1,000. But the penalties are raised to up to one year in jail and fine of up to $2,000 if:

• It is a second or subsequent conviction;
• The perpetrator has any prior convictions for invasion of privacy; or
• The victim was a minor.

Additionally, if the victim was a minor, the perpetrator will be subject to California’s child pornography laws.

If you have been charged with revenge porn or a similar offense, please contact passionate San Jose criminal defense attorney Wesley Schroeder for a free initial consultation.

Sources:

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&division=&title=15.&part=1.&chapter=2.&article=

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/27/californias-revenge-porn-law-which-notoriously-didnt-include-selfies-now-will/

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1255