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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Comments

[mr lizard]

That knucklehead should've moved to Reno as soon as that law passed... Or better yet Florida

[AlmightyJB]

Try posting a nike swoosh on your website. Seriously, try it.

[Death Rock and Skull]

Just try it.

[General Butt Naked]

Just do it?

I read the other day that the ad man that thought up Nike's "Just Do It" slogan was inspired by Gary Gilmore's last words which were, "Let's do it!"

Never knew that before.

[neoteny]

I'll never forget when the Heaven's Gate people offed themselves, the news cameras showed the sole of their shoes as they laid dead in their bunks -- and all of them had The Swoosh? on them.

[Pelosi's Rabbit]

"Challenge accepted." - Li Ning

[Fist of Etiquette]

If only Bollaert had thought to get pictures of Harris first.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

She's not bad.

She's not quite Pam Bondi though

*Obligatory THIS IS WHY THERE ARE NO FEMALE LIBERTARIAN ATTORNEYS GENERAL

[Fist of Etiquette]

Way to turn reason into a revenge porn site.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Should you really be talking to me that way when I have compromising pictures of you, Warty, and a sex doll with Lena Dunham's face taped on it?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Those are copyrighted. I planned to sell those.

[jesse.in.mb]

What as a hiccup cure?

[Fist of Etiquette]

How provincial you are, sexually.

[jesse.in.mb]

Truly. Your tastes are like those of a Roman emperor who has tired of mundane earthly pleasures.

[Atanarjuat]

Fuck Pam Bondi, she's working against medical marijuana in FL right now.

[Death Rock and Skull]

Sounds like a dating or hookup site to me. I might consider "revenge porn" a favor, anyway.

[Palin's Buttplug]

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.

Extortion in essence.

Why can't we all enjoy old girlfriend porn without the grifting angle?

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Has it ever occurred to people to maybe encourage women not to send naked pictures of themselves to the person they are currently sleeping with?

Or at least stick with Snapchat.

[AlmightyJB]

That never occurred to me

[Palin's Buttplug]

Stupid suggestion.

[MJGreen]

Common sense and personal responsibility are pretty stupid.

[Sevo]

The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc|12.10.13 @ 6:56PM|#
"Has it ever occurred to people to maybe encourage women not to send naked pictures of themselves to the person they are currently sleeping with?"
If someone has to 'encourage' them in that fashion, I'd suggest you not use your correct name while dealing with them.
They are D-U-M, dumb!

[Death Rock and Skull]

Since it is a little late for the chicken thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgnh1zg7ULI
If you want to have a good time...

[Atanarjuat]

So, what's the revenge porn site URL? Asking for a friend.

[Irish]

Democratic Congresswoman doesn't know where Benghazi is or what happened there. She tells constituents that she isn't there to talk about Benghazi because she's there 'to talk about the Middle East.'

Reality based party.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Some fake scandals just don't stick anymore. It is a fucking shame too.

[Irish]

Which of course has nothing to do with the fact that she should know an ambassador was murdered there and should know what country it's in.

I'm not sure how 'it's a fake scandal!' excuses have anything to do with the unbelievable stupidity on display.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Annie Kuster? Who?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Kuster

Oh, she was elected in 2012. The fake Benghazi scandal was old news by then.

She is homely too. Not a good combination.

[neoteny]

nonprofit consultant

So they don't profit from their consulting 'work'?

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|12.10.13 @ 7:32PM|#
'Some sleazy liars keep right on lying'
Fixed, asshole.

[Agile Cyborg]

One of the extremely rare times I have no problem with a douche being jerked up harsh. Fuck this trash bag. Women who are comfortable in their sexuality shouldn't have to look over their shoulders when fucking. And any rotfuck who's posted his gf sexing as revenge for anything is a pile of subhuman filth.

[Ken Shultz]

Yeah, charging people $350 to take their pictures down?

Feeling sorry for that guy would take too much effort.

We were talking about anarcho-capitalist criminal justice focusing on restitution, but how you gonna make restitution unring that bell?

Your coworkers are emailing links to your pictures back and forth, but here's your $350 back?

That doesn't really cut it.

[AlmightyJB]

"how you gonna make restitution unring that bell?"

With a bullet

[prolefeed]

Your coworkers are emailing links to your pictures back and forth, but here's your $350 back?

$100K or so in restitution would considerably ease the sting of having strangers view your body naked.

[Some call me Tim?]

I'd take about $30k

[Old Man With Candy]

I'd pay to have strangers view my body naked. Without the usual subsequent arrest that I know so well.

[Ken Shultz]

"...who facilitated the posting of more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos [reviews] and extorted victims for as much as $350 each to remove the illicit content.

This website published intimate photos reviews of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives"

When you look at it like that, it kind of sounds like Yelp.

I mean, when Yelp effectively extorts money out of people, they don't use explicit photos, but otherwise...

[HazelMeade]

So Yelp lets people pay to take down bad reviews? That explains a few restaurants I know.

[Ken Shultz]

The accusation is that they won't let the positive reviews show up on the front page unless you pay them for "marketing" or whatever.

So, unless you pay them for "marketing", the only reviews people see on the front page are the negative ones.

And, somehow, the negative reviews that seem to be from your competitors' sock puppets, those all seem to get through--until you start paying for "advertising" or whatever they're calling it these days.

That's the accusation I've heard. I read it online, and I heard it from my dentist--who hates them.

"The initial small claims judge likened Yelp's practices to the Mafia."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-po.....e-reviews/

You read that article at Ars, and it makes them sound like they're worse than patent trolls.

[Some call me Tim?]

I don't buy it. Not one bit.

[Ken Shultz]

Go write a positive review of a business that isn't paying Yelp for anything.

Wait two days.

See what happens to your review.

[HazelMeade]

Thought experiment:

Articulate the reasons, why or why not, individuals should be granted legal copyright over all photographic images of themselves.

[Francisco d Anconia]

If someone takes a picture of my property (from a public access) and turns it into a postcard (and makes money on it) do I have recourse?

[HazelMeade]

Under currently law, I think not. But maybe you should.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Not that this guy isn't a shitbag, but ya know the best way to ensure your fuck photos don't make it to the internet?

What is the infatuation with taking fuck pics? I don't get it.

If you would be upset by folks in your church (parents, boss...) watching you take a big dick up your ass, you probably shouldn't be creating a record of it.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Oh, and TIWTANFL!

[Sevo]

"If you would be upset by folks in your church (parents, boss...) watching you take a big dick up your ass, you probably shouldn't be creating a record of it."

This.
Let's say there are no 'revenge porn' sites; you think that photo of you is going nowhere?
Ha and ha!
If you're dumb enough to have that photo taken, I'm gonna have a hard time working up a sad face when it ends up floating around the web.

[jesse.in.mb]

But how will I make sure that every NSA watcher has seen my taint!?

[Agile Cyborg]

Are you fucking 12? Relationships can often take a comfortable tone at some point then turn vile later. This is human 101 and this dickpunch decided to capitalize on fucking losers who filmed the comfortable tone then got stressed when vile hit the fan.

No matter how twats like you twist it... revenge porn is trash that belongs on no one's screed. I'm no fucking dick feminist male but I despise women being arm-barred by simple-minded fool males and this site owner is on the level of the NSA with me. Rank putrid filth of the lowest order deserving of a swift throat chop.

[Sevo]

Agile Cyborg|12.10.13 @ 10:02PM|#
"Are you fucking 12?"
You ARE a fucking idjit; there is no doubt.
Yes, relationships go bad, which is exactly the reason NOT to have those photos taken.
Fuck you and your 'if everybody were wonderful' bullshit.

[Agile Cyborg]

You married, you pile of crap?

[Francisco d Anconia]

I'm married. What's the point? And why are you being confrontational?

[Agile Cyborg]

And your name is Sevo?

[Francisco d Anconia]

Your 10:02 post was a reply to me. You asked me if I was 12. Not sure why.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I believe you also called me a twat.

[darius404]

It's projection. Some people have trouble hiding the fact that they're huge pussies. Like Merkin, for instance.

[Sevo]

Agile Cyborg|12.10.13 @ 10:14PM|#
"You married, you pile of crap?"
Well, when asked by a slimy turd, I typically answer:
Fuck you. None of your business.
Is that clear, slimy turd?

[Reverendcaptain]

Bury this guy. It's one thing to argue that a picture taken in a public space is fair game but clearly private pictures without a model release are an invasion of privacy. Believe it or not, I'm a big fan of privacy.

The extortion angle only makes this guy even more sleazy but you don't even have to get there to put him in jail.

Weird how commerce trumps privacy with some people.

[Sevo]

Yep, he's a really slimy character.
Now what are you going to do about the fact that your 'oh so private' photos are going to end up on the web anyhow?
You think it needs a 'revenge porn' site?

[Agile Cyborg]

Private photos are private... no matter how useful NSA, FBI, Dick-chomping LE, or pissed off romantic counterpart deems them to be. At some point revenge is like jealousy or obsessive security... a disease in need of a serious fucking cure.

[Sevo]

Agile Cyborg|12.10.13 @ 10:06PM|#
"Private photos are private.."

Sorry, saying it's so does not make it so.

[Agile Cyborg]

Hey, dick drip, are you fucking married yet? OR, are you a slimy little bastard with a massive hole for a mouth?

[darius404]

More projection? Ooze somewhere else, retard.

[Reverendcaptain]

No photos available for me. An ex is I guess lucky I'm not a total jerk because even though I have some, I'd never share them much less publish. So yeah, everybody needs to protect themselves.

But that doesn't mean it should be fair game in publishing private photos of other people. As mentioned before, if you have a model release then you probably are alright legally. If not then you are not only an asshole but liable.

[RishJoMo]

Thats bologna! Dude should be able to earn a living!

http://www.Anon-Get.tk