A website owner who published pornographic pictures of people online without their permission, before charging them to have the images removed, has been convicted in California.
Kevin Bollaert is facing up to 20 years in prison after being found guilty on 27 charges relating to identity theft and extortion during his time as a "revenge porn" website operator, BBC News reports.
He ran a website that allowed disgruntled people to upload compromising photos of their former partners, alongside their social media contact details and other personal information.
In court, it was claimed this led to victims being harassed online through Facebook and Twitter by people who'd spotted their pictures online.
This constitutes a violation of Californian law, which bans the sharing of people's personal information with the "intent to annoy or harass" them.
Through another website he would then demand payment around $350 - from the victims featured in the photos if they wanted their images removed.
Although the State of California does have in place laws to prosecute people for revenge porn offences, he was not charged under this legislation because this reportedly came into force after his website was shut down.
Court documents revealed around 10,000 photos were posted on the site in total between 2012 and 2013, while Paypal accounts show he made tens of thousands of dollars through the websites.
Bollaert's defence lawyer Emily Rose-Weber said he may have run an "immoral business" but he had not broken the law.
"It's gross, it's offensive, but it's not illegal," she said, in her client's defence.
-
ITPro is 20!We take a look back on the past two decades since ITPro launched...
-
Cyber experts issue alert after two ransomware groups team up on ‘unprecedented’ threat campaignNews The tie-up includes a new model of industrialized ransomware deployment that significantly lowers the barrier to entry for cyber crime
-
Nintendo hacker forced to pay company 25-30% of earnings for lifeNews Gary Bowser pled guilty to hacking charges in 2021
-
Legal experts predict 600% surge in data protection disputesNews Disputes could rocket by six times in next five years
-
36% of ex-employees are breaking the computer misuse actNews Companies are failing to revoke access when IT workers leave
-
Court delays sentencing of 'revenge porn' criminalNews 21-year-old man's sentencing adjourned until 4 September
-
Finnish teen convicted of over 50,000 hacks avoids jailNews Judge cites young age of hacker, but others warn he is a "dangerous sociopath"
-
Is the Dark Web safe? How Ross Ulbricht's life sentence could harm online law enforcementNews Life sentencing of Silk Road mastermind will fragment Dark Web criminals' activity, warns report
-
Government pushes emergency law to allow data snoopingNews Government legislation will force telecoms companies to log customer info for government investigation
-
GCHQ taken to court by ISPs over network spyingNews GCHQ under threat of lawsuit from ISP companies angered over Snowden spying revelations
