I’ve had a handful of revenge porn specific cases and even more cases that have dabbled in the revenge porn world since I started my career. What is revenge porn and how does it relate to family law are usually the two questions I get asked the most.
Revenge Porn is covered under the California Penal Code Section 647 and is defined as anyone who intentionally distributes an image of the intimate body part or depicting them in sexual intercourse, oral copulation, sodomy, sexual penetration, or masturbation, under circumstances in which they understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.
In other words, Revenge Porn occurs where sexual images or videos were once consensual meaning, they were consensual at the time sent, but after the relationship ended, one person decides to embarrass the sender of those photos by posting the images on the internet or making them publicly available for others to see.
Revenge porn is a criminal offense in California as a misdemeanor crime and if defendants are found guilty there is a plethora of punishments they can face – fine, probation, or even jail time.
But now that we understand what Revenge Porn is, how does it fit in the world of family law? Well, Revenge Porn falls under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act in California and often is a very strong argument for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order.
The Domestic Violence Prevention Act’s purpose is to protect victims of domestic violence and allow them a simple and quick means to obtain a restraining order. The Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) is a huge act that encompasses many acts to assist the victim in gaining protection. A protective order can be issued for things like disturbing your peace, stalking, and even revenge porn.
In order to gain a restraining order for revenge porn against an ex-spouse or partner, there are a few things that must be illustrated to the court:
- There was INTENTIONAL distribution of an image;
- That depicts an intimate body part or parts of another; OR;
- Image of the person engaged in an act of sexual nature;
- Where the distributing party KNEW the images were to remain PRIVATE; and,
- The person distributing KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN distribution will cause SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; and,
- A person suffers DISTRESS.
With today’s day in age, where social media and the internet are an integral part of everyone’s life and we are seeing more sights pop up like OnlyFans, revenge porn is becoming more and more prevalent. California enacted safeguards to protect victims of disgruntled exes who are out to embarrass and seek revenge. Posting private photos of an ex is no longer something to get away with, it can result in criminal charges as well as a protective order against that person. You should think twice about getting that revenge and worse, if the picture is of you that is being spread through the internet, there are serious repercussions that the poster will have to face for your protection.