Revenge Porn Site Operator Arrested for Extortion

On October 2, 2013, we posted that California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill outlawing Revenge Porn. (earlier post here).   It was a noble move.  As we posted before Revenge porn is just what it sounds like.  It is nude or sexual pictures or videos taken by a former boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse or lover, that was made with consent at the time, that is posted by the ex after a breakup in order to hurt the former lover.  Revenge porn sites have sprung up across the internet.

Reuters reports that California has now made its first Revenge Porn arrest, though not solely for operating a Revenge Porn website.  The evil idiot running the site was also arrested for extortion. Kevin Bollaert’s site featured over 10,000 sexually explicit photos, and he charged women up to $350 each to remove their photos, officials said. The site was not the largest revenge porn website, but it had photos of people from across the country, Pacilio said.

Bollaert was charged under a California identity theft law that prohibits using identifying information of a person without their permission, and under anti-extortion legislation, according to court documents.

Unlike many other revenge porn websites, Bollaert's site had required users post the photo subject's full name, location, age and a link to the person's Facebook profile, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

That is straight-up extortion of the worst kind.  Bollaert had set up his site to be as dangerous and humiliating as possible to the women (and likely some men – I’m not sure, but it’s probable), who were on it.  By posting their full name, and link to their Facebook page, they were designed to be seen in a Google search, and designed to be found as quickly as possible.  By charging them money to take the images down, Bollaert was committing extortion in the most blatant manner possible in the internet age.


In all, Bollaert faces 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and could be sent to prison for up to 22 years if convicted on all counts, officials said. He is being held in San Diego jail on $50,000 bail.

Reuters reports that Bollaert is now playing that he is “feeling bad about the whole thing.”  He said he took the site down, and knows that “lives are getting ruined.”  He said he gets 100 emails daily from people asking for photos of themselves to be removed.  That’s the thing about the internet.  Once something’s up on a site, someone can cache the site and keep it running after the original site owner takes the site down.

Bollaert did ruin lives. He also profited from it.  He should go to jail for a very, very long time, as an example for others who try to do the same, and for just retribution for the severity of what he’s done. 

This is also another warning against taking and sending explicit images to lovers and ones you date. Break-ups can be bad.  The internet can be forever, or until link-rot sets in, which those who have been victimized hope happens really fast.