December 6, 2014 7:45 AM

Revenge porn: A truly evil, classless assault on a woman's dignity and privacy

On Monday, a Los Angeles man named Noe Iniguez became the first person ever to receive a sentence for violating California’s new revenge porn law. Iniguez got one year in jail and 36 months probation for three criminal counts, one of which was revenge porn-related.

Revenge porn is awful. That’s why California made it illegal. And Iniguez’s case was particulary bad. The Los Angeles City Attorney wrote in a press release:

In December 2013, Iniguez, using an alias, allegedly began posting derogatory comments about his ex-girlfriend on her employer’s Facebook page. In March, 2014 Iniguez allegedly posted a topless photograph of the victim on her employer’s Facebook page which was accompanied by a message that called the victim a “drunk” and a “slut” and encouraged her firing from the company.

Now, Iniguez is going to jail for something awful he posted on the internet.

That someone would eventually receive a sentence like this was inevitable. California passed its revenge porn law last October, after the trend had hit a tipping point of sorts. Multiple websites—namely, Is Anyone Up—to host revenge porn had attracted national press attention. Is Anyone Up eventually shut down and reportedly faced an FBI investigation. Victims even banded together in a desperate attempt to seek justice for what was then a totally destructive yet totally legal attack. (Revenge porn remains legal in many states.)

The timing of the 36-year-old’s sentencing is especially curious since it arrived on the same day the Supreme Court heard its first-ever case about free speech and social media. That case is more broadly about harassment and threats online, but revenge porn could be implicated in the ruling. We won’t know for sure until sometime next year.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 6, 2014 7:45 AM.

The 2014 WWJD Holiday Gift Giving Guide was the previous entry in this blog.

And we're surprised when stupid people make stupid policy? is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 6.0.2