Revenge porn is a growing trend across the internet. The internet is a place where people feel they can behave anonymously. This trend occurs when a party posts pictures and videos of an extremely personal nature that depict another person engaged in a sex act. People call this type of video revenge porn because it is usually motivated by a desire to hurt someone.
Tarrant County prosecutors charged a Fort Worth man with two felonies after his ex-girlfriend’s e-mail was hacked. Police and prosecutors believe the man hacked into the e-mail. The hacker sent explicit videos to the woman’s contacts including family members. The woman did not know that videos of her existed, and claims that her ex-boyfriend threatened to post revenge porn to hurt her.
Prosecutors charged the person accused of sending the videos with improper photography/visual recording and breach of computer security. Both offenses are state jail felonies. This means that they are punishable by between 6 months and two years in a state jail and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
How does someone commit the crime of improper photography? There are three chief ways to commit this offense. First a person commits an offense by transmitting or recording another from a bathroom or private dressing room without consent and with the intent to invade privacy or to arouse another. Secondly, a person commits an offense by transmitting or recording another from a different room without the persons consent and with the intent to arouse another. A person can commit this offense by resending either. (The foregoing is just an illustration. For a full definition of improper photography, please see section 21.15 of the Texas Penal Code).
The definitions of these offenses are very general. The lesson really is never post revenge porn because in the worst case scenario it could be a felony. In the best case scenario, a person posted revenge porn of someone they once cared about and that image or video is out there forever.
