Calif. AG Announces Arrest of ‘Revenge Porn’ Site Operator

In October, California

outlawed “revenge porn,” the act of posting what had once been
private naked pictures of former partners online for the purpose of
humiliating him or her (generally “her”).

Today California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the
arrest of a revenge porn site operator, though the charges are
actually separate and more extensive than the state’s new law. From
Harris’
own site:

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of
the alleged owner and operator of a revenge porn website who
facilitated the posting of more than 10,000 sexually explicit
photos and extorted victims for as much as $350 each to remove the
illicit content.

“This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims
and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity
with the potential to devastate lives,” Attorney General Harris
said. “Online predators that profit from the extortion of private
photos will be investigated and prosecuted for this reprehensible
and illegal internet activity.”

Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, was arrested today
in San Diego by California Department of Justice agents and is
being held in San Diego County jail on $50,000 bail. According to
documents filed in San Diego County Superior Court, Bollaert has
been charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft
and extortion and is facing possible jail time and fines.

What made Bollaert’s site different from some others is that it
“required that the poster include the subject’s full name,
location, age and Facebook profile link.” He is then accused of
setting up a second separate site to charge hundreds of dollars
from victims of the first site in order to get their pictures taken
down.

In October, after the California law had been passed, Jerry
Brito
examined the problems of privacy rights colliding with free
speech rights in efforts to block revenge porn.

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