Ever hear of revenge porn?
I hadn’t until last week when I read media reports about a San Diego man who was sentenced to 18 years in jail for operating and profiting from a revenge porn website. He was convicted of 21 counts of Identity Theft and 6 counts of Larceny by Extortion, both of which are felony arrests in the State of Connecticut. He created a website that pandered to scorned men. He solicited them to send naked photos and videos of their ex-lovers which he would then post online. Then, on top of that, he would charge these women-victims thousands of dollars to take the photos down. Only in America!
So is the law finally catching up with technology? The answer is yes. And as evidenced by this guy’s 18 year jail sentence, they are coming after cybercriminals with a sledgehammer…
While this cyber-extortion / internet extortion conviction is the first-of-its-kind for a revenge porn website, law enforcement has prosecuted similar extortion and cybercrime arrests in Connecticut over the past several years. The Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut computer crime lawyers, extortion lawyers, and cyber-bulling / cybercrime lawyers at Mark Sherman Law have handled several high profile internet extortion cases surrounding various “sugar daddy” websites, a few of which were covered nationally in the Wall Street Journal. While one could argue that a sugar daddy knows exactly what they are getting into when they embark on a fantasy online relationship, being the victim of a revenge porn website involves a completely difference set of laws and penalties. Any of the top Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut extortion and computer crime criminal lawyers must thoroughly investigate how the pornographic images and videos got online in the first place. Many times the participants willingly and knowingly create and disseminate the videos to friends and display them on Youtube for limited viewing. What makes the conduct particularly illegal is when a third party—with no connection to the participants—demands money in exchange for the removal of the content from the internet. And if you get contacted by the police, that’s when you should contact a top Connecticut internet computer crime criminal defense attorney lawyer to assist you in the investigation.
If you are involved in a similar situation where you are accused in Connecticut of extortion using the internet, then depending on the facts of your case, you may be facing internet extortion and identity theft charges. These charges carry stiff jail sentences and fines. Not only does this San Diego guy have to serve 18 years in prison for extortion and identity theft, but he also has to pay thousands of dollars in fines and restitution.
As the best Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut extortion and identity theft criminal lawyers and attorneys will tell you, CGS 53a-119 defines extortion as compelling or inducing another person to deliver property to a third person by instilling a fear that if the property is not delivered, then the actor will inflict harm or damage to their reputation. In the California revenge porn extortion case, the victims paid big bucks for the removal of the images from the internet, as some of the victims lost their jobs due to the damaging pornography, and even one victim attempted suicide. As any top Stamford, Darien and New Canaan Connecticut extortion and larceny criminal lawyer might argue, it may be a defense that you did not actually intend to deprive anyone of money or property. Thus, it’s critical to seek out a top Connecticut extortion criminal lawyer to vet out these defenses during your criminal case.
Connecticut’s identity theft statute, CGS 53a-129, prohibits you from knowingly using personally identifying states information of another person to obtain money, credit, goods, services, or property without the consent of the other person. In the revenge porn case, the defendant was using personal information and explicit photographs of the victims to obtain money from them. When the best Connecticut criminal lawyers are fighting identity theft arrests, they typically challenge the requirement that you knowingly used personal identifying information of another person. While you may have been the individual who hosted the media in which this information is posted, if you were not the one actively posting the personally identifying information, then you might not have the requisite intent to be arrested or convicted for a Stamford or Greenwich Connecticut arrest for Identity Theft.
If you have been arrested for larceny, extortion, computer crimes, or identity theft in Stamford, Fairfield, New Canaan or Westport Connecticut, then the attorneys at Mark Sherman Law are ready to help you craft the most cost-effective defense. Our goal is results—getting your case resolved or dismissed as quickly as possible. We are available to speak with you any day of the week, at any time, at (203) 358-4700. We look forward to hearing from you.
