Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Revenge Porn Site Operator Arrested for California Offenses

kamala_harris.jpg
Attorney General Kamala Harris at a May 17, 2013 news conference (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.


Just in time for Valentine’s Day: The owner and operator of a revenge porn website was arrested Thursday night.Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the arrest Friday of Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Okla. More than 400 sexually explicit photos of Californians were posted on WinByState.com, with victims being extorted for money for their removal.

Meyering was arrested in Tulsa by agents with the California Attorney General’s eCrime Unit alongside local officers in Tulsa. Meyering’s is currently being held without bail in Oklahoma, and Harris’ office is seeking his extradition to California in an ongoing crackdown on so-called “revenge porn” sites.

“This behavior is the very definition of predatory and this website made a game out of humiliating victims for profit,” Harris said. “These actions at their core are about one individual exploiting the privacy and trust of others for financial gain."

Meyering is being charged with five felony counts of extortion, with all of the alleged victims from Calfornia, though the site has forums for all 50 states. He could face up to six years in state prison.

Revenge porn was outlawed in California last October.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today