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tod evans
12-11-2013, 08:01 AM
I've not given much thought to this, but upon reading how this prosecutor has levied charges carrying 22 years against this guy for running a website, I'm appalled.

Government hacks data every hour, certainly porn too, how is that any different?


From Drudge;



California man arrested for running 'revenge porn' website

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/california-man-arrested-running-39-revenge-porn-39-234710414.html


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California man was arrested on Tuesday on accusations he ran a "revenge porn" website, one that featured nude pictures of women often posted by jilted or angry ex-lovers, officials said.
The San Diego arrest, the latest action by the state to crack down on such websites, comes after California Governor Jerry Brown signed a first-in-the-nation law in October specifically targeting revenge porn.
The law defines revenge porn as the posting of private, explicit photos of other people on the Internet to humiliate them.
But authorities did not charge 27-year-old Kevin Bollaert under that law, because it is geared to those who post the incriminating pictures and not those who run websites that feature them, said Nicholas Pacilio, spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office.
Bollaert's site, which is no longer operational, had featured over 10,000 sexually explicit photos, and he charged women up to $350 each to remove their photos, officials said. The site was not the largest revenge porn website, but it had photos of people from across the country, Pacilio said.
Bollaert was charged under a California identity theft law that prohibits using identifying information of a person without their permission, and under anti-extortion legislation, according to court documents.
Unlike many other revenge porn websites, Bollaert's site had required users post the photo subject's full name, location, age and a link to the person's Facebook profile, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a statement the site had turned the public humiliation and betrayal of people whose photos were posted "into a commodity."
In all, Bollaert faces 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and could be sent to prison for up to 22 years if convicted on all counts, officials said. He is being held in San Diego jail on $50,000 bail.
An attorney for Bollaert did not return calls.
An arrest warrant affidavit said that when California investigators visited Bollaert in September, he told them he had taken down the website and that while it had been fun to run at first, he regretted it.
"I feel bad about the whole thing, and like I just don't want to do it anymore. I mean, I know a lot of people are getting screwed over ... Like, their lives are getting ruined," Bollaert said, according to the affidavit.
He also told investigators he received 100 emails daily from people asking for photos of themselves to be removed, the document stated.
One woman whose photo was posted on the site by a former boyfriend told investigators she received emails, calls and lewd photos from people wanting to "hook up" and feared for her safety. Other women told investigators the photos were not posted to the site by an ex-lover but by someone else.
The phenomenon of revenge porn has become so widespread it was featured this year as a story line on popular HBO series "The Newsroom."
While the California revenge porn law is the first to specifically target the phenomenon, New Jersey has an older law that allows prosecution of such behavior, but it was passed as a cyberbullying statute not specifically aimed at revenge porn.

eduardo89
12-11-2013, 09:06 AM
The law defines revenge porn as the posting of private, explicit photos of other people on the Internet to humiliate them.

So this is basically a thought crime. If you did it to humiliate them, illegal. If you did it for another reason, legal. Or am I missing something?

acptulsa
12-11-2013, 09:18 AM
So this is basically a thought crime. If you did it to humiliate them, illegal. If you did it for another reason, legal. Or am I missing something?

Posting any image of someone anywhere without their permission and for profit is illegal--or was illegal--unless you're the news media--or the government.

Was a time when artistic photographers kept release forms in their camera bags and chased people down to sign them--and/or only used images where everyone in the frame was looking away and their faces weren't visible.

Acala
12-11-2013, 09:20 AM
Putting aside for a moment the stupidity of the law, I have no sympathy whatsoever for this guy. What a world-class asshole.

Nirvikalpa
12-11-2013, 09:55 AM
The guy wouldn't just post photos, he'd post photos with the private information of the individuals, where his cronies would stalk and harass them (now, I know some members here don't have a problem with that, including some posting on this thread).

There are women who were hacked by other site owners, their photos sold for profit, who then lost their jobs. Just pointing that out.

compromise
12-11-2013, 10:14 AM
Women should be more cautious when it comes to sending nudes to people. This is a problem wouldn't even exist if modern society hadn't made "sexting" socially acceptable.

eduardo89
12-11-2013, 10:19 AM
Women should be more cautious when it comes to sending nudes to people. This is a problem wouldn't even exist if modern society hadn't made "sexting" socially acceptable.

That is true. But still no excuse for people making this kind of site. Still, that is a valid point.

Origanalist
12-11-2013, 10:32 AM
Bollaert's site, which is no longer operational, had featured over 10,000 sexually explicit photos, and he charged women up to $350 each to remove their photos, officials said. The site was not the largest revenge porn website, but it had photos of people from across the country, Pacilio said.
Bollaert was charged under a California identity theft law that prohibits using identifying information of a person without their permission, and under anti-extortion legislation, according to court documents.
Unlike many other revenge porn websites, Bollaert's site had required users post the photo subject's full name, location, age and a link to the person's Facebook profile, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

IF this is true, I find it impossible to work up any sympathy for the guy. But, as usual, I also can't believe a damn thing coming from these people.

Brian4Liberty
12-11-2013, 10:37 AM
Bollaert's site, which is no longer operational, had featured over 10,000 sexually explicit photos, and he charged women up to $350 each to remove their photos, officials said.

Extortion. He's a criminal.

And it would be worth considering that his site was illegal based upon it's basic purpose (posting pictures without permission with intent to harm).

It's one thing for people to sell "stolen" merchandise on EBay. No blame on EBay. It's another thing to have a website called "ESteal - buy and sell stolen goods here".

jmdrake
12-11-2013, 11:41 AM
Women should be more cautious when it comes to sending nudes to people. This is a problem wouldn't even exist if modern society hadn't made "sexting" socially acceptable.

That's assuming that no hidden cameras were involved in making revenge porn.

pcosmar
12-11-2013, 11:58 AM
Women should be more cautious when it comes to sending nudes to people. This is a problem wouldn't even exist if modern society hadn't made "sexting" socially acceptable.

When wasn't it socially acceptable?

http://mysticalsex.wordpress.com/tag/erotic-sculpture/

Modern Society? Bah.
There is nothing new under the sun.

http://offtrackplanet.com/magazine/articles/the-most-pornographic-statues-you-must-see-around-the-world

you should maybe visit a museum or two.

http://mysticalsex.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/autofellatio.jpg?w=450

CPUd
12-11-2013, 04:35 PM
IF this is true, I find it impossible to work up any sympathy for the guy. But, as usual, I also can't believe a damn thing coming from these people.

It's for real. Something else he (and other copycats) did was go to their facebook wall and post a link with pictures to their sites.

otherone
12-11-2013, 09:22 PM
I hadn't realized there was so many men jilted by indiscreet women to make such a website viable. Live and learn. Oh....and how does this affect the creation of photoshopped "fakes"?