"Revenge porn" website creator Hunter Moore pleads not guilty
The creator of a so-called “revenge porn” website who is accused of paying someone to hack into people’s computers and steal their naked photographs has pleaded not guilty.
Hunter Moore, 27, is charged with 15 federal counts, including conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. His trial is scheduled to begin in California on April 8.
According to the indictment, Moore’s website isanyoneup.com consisted of sexually explicit photos posted by users – without the victims’ permission - often for the purpose of “revenge.” But the indictment indicates that the photos he obtained from users were not enough to populate the site to Moore’s liking.
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The indictment alleges that Moore paid Charles Evens, who is also under indictment, to hack into “hundreds” of email accounts, saying, “Moore sent payments to Evens in exchange for nude photos obtained unlawfully from the victims’ accounts. Moore then posted the illegally obtained photos on his website, without the victims’ consent.”
The indictment lists 54 “overt acts” in 2011 and 2012, including emails between the two defendants discussing “how to [] hack e-mails,” how to set up a PayPal account “to avoid detection of their scheme and connection to each other,” and direct requests for photographs, including an email sent “on or about Feb. 12, 2012” where Moore requested “nude pictures of ‘7 girls and 3 dudes.’”
