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Jerk Who Hosted Site With 10K Revenge Porn Photos Faces 20 Years In Prison
A man who ran a disgusting 'revenge porn' website was convicted this week of 27 felony charges in what might possibly be the first conviction won against a revenge porn site operator.
Kevin Bollaert, a 28-year-old man from San Diego, hosted a website that posted explicit photos mostly of women without their consent and then would charge them to have it removed, San Jose Mercury News reports. On Monday, he was found guilty of extortion and identity theft and is now looking at a possible 20 years behind bars at his sentencing on April 3. A judge ordered him to remain in custody until his sentencing after Deputy Attorney General Tawnya Austin argued that he was vindictive person who could possibly use the Internet to again harm the 26 victims named in the criminal complaint, NBC San Diego reports.
Bollaert ran a website—the no longer operational UGotPosted.com—where users could post nude or incriminating photos of exes or enemies. Most of the over 10,000 images were of women, and entries also included the victim's names, location, phone numbers and links to social media. Bollaert then ran a different site called ChangeMyReputation.com where he would charge as much as $350 to have the photos taken down. Prosecutors said that he raked in tens of thousands of dollars from ad revenue and numerous victims. They likened his operation to blackmail.
At the trial, several victims talked about how being featured on the site caused them not only embarrassment, but fear. Some were harassed by strangers who saw them on the site, then tried to use the information posted to get in touch with them or contact their employers. One woman said it ruined her life and that her family would no longer speak to her because they felt she had shamed them.
Intentionally posting sexual photos of others without their consent in order to harm them has been termed 'revenge porn,' and it's been illegal in California since October of 2013. The law was not used in Bollaert's case because the crimes occurred prior to the law's passing.
The first man found guilty of 'revenge porn' in California was Noe Iniguez of Los Angeles, 36, who posted topless photos of his ex on her employer's Facebook page calling her a "drunk" and a "slut." This was after she'd obtained a restraining order against him because he wouldn't stop sending her harassing text messages. He was sentenced to one year in jail, plus 36 months of probation and counseling on domestic violence.
In February of last year, Casey E. Meyering, 28, was arrested in Tulsa after posting over 400 explicit photos of Californians on revenge porn site WinByState.com.
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