Attorney Says "Revenge Porn" Victims Have Good Case Against Those Posting Photos
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- You could call it "revenge porn" - adult websites where jilted lovers can post explicit pictures of their exes; pictures that, before the break-up, were private.
They never wanted to share the pictures with the world, but now, they're out there for all to see.
Some call the sites "revenge porn" - intimate pictures posted by scorned ex-lovers in some cases.
There are numerous websites that give people platforms to post nude and semi-nude pictures anonymously; women from our area and across the county, many of whom had no idea their revealing pictures were out there.
Posters on one website are asked to list names, ages and filter the woman by state.
They can also link Facebook pages and even cell phone numbers of the women, leading some to find out the hard way like one woman from Pennsylvania who asked to not be identified.
"I kept getting these random texts at like 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.," she said. "My phone number is actually on the website, which is insane."
On some of the sites, there's information on how to take the pictures down, but that too comes at a cost, $250 on one website.
The website operator, Craig Brittain, says he has no problem with what he's doing, saying we live in a sleazy society. A message on his site says we will never stop.
"We're not out for revenge or any sort of malicious thing. We don't want these people to hurt," said Brittain. "We just want entertainment. We just want the money. So yeah, if it comes down to it, that's what we're after. We're out to make a buck."
There may be misconceptions that once you send a picture to someone, like a boyfriend, that it's fair game. But a local attorney who represents sexual harassment victims disagrees.
"The issue with invasion of privacy is, what did I intend to do?" attorney Sam Cordes said. "Me taking off my clothes in front of my wife is very different than me taking off my clothes in front of the world."
Cordes is not currently representing people involved with the revenge porn websites, but he says women have a good case against the person posting pictures of them and against the websites.
"The question really is, they don't have necessarily the right, without your permission, to publish your picture if it's a private picture like that," Cordes said.
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