Posted on 04/03/2015 7:15:01 PM PDT by nickcarraway
In an unprecedented criminal case, Kevin Bollaert was found guilty of posting sexually explicit photos of women online to extort them
A San Diego man convicted of identity theft and extortion after posting more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos of women to his so-called "revenge porn" website was sentenced on Friday to 18 years behind bars.
The sentencing of Kevin Bollaert ended an all-day hearing where a number of victims told of the humiliation inflicted by his website. Bollaert burst into tears as he listened to testimony from his mother and victims.
The sentence was at the high end of the range; Bollaert faced a maximum of 20 years. In explaining his punishment, the judge noted that he stacked the sentencing terms based on the multiple victims.
Considering credits for good behavior, Bollaert could be eligible for parole after 10 years, the judge noted.
Bollaert also must pay $10,000 in restitution.
It was the first case of its type in the United States, and California was the first state to prosecute someone for posting humiliating pictures online. Bollaert was convicted of 27 counts of identity theft and extortion in connection to the thousands of photos posted online.
Once they were published, Bollaert would then demand hundreds of dollars from individuals to remove their photos through a second website he owned.
Prosecutors called Bollaert "vindictive" and claimed he took pleasure out of hurting his female victims with the internet being his "tool of destruction."
Kevin Bollaert, 27, has been charged with 31 felony counts for allegedly posting nude photos of women online, then charging the women to have the photos removed. NBC 7’s Megan Tevrizian talks with defense attorney Lindsey Mercer about why this is being called a landmark cases and what it could mean for similar cases going forward.
In court Friday, his parents told the judge their son has said he has shown remorse. "He has said many times he wishes he never made the website...If he could go back and change it all, he would," they said in a statement to the court.
One after another victims shared how they were damaged by Bollaert's actions. "It's just broken me on a level that's not describable," one woman told the court. "The only thing I have left is shame and anger."
Another explained how she is haunted by her photos being made public, saying,"If someone looks at me? Are they remembering me?" She also described her experience as a daily struggle.
A third victim said she has a hard time acknowledging Bollaert as a human being. The case centered on a now defunct website called YouGotPosted.com, created by Bollaert so ex-husbands and ex-boyfriends could submit embarrassing photos of victims for revenge. The photos also linked to victims’ social media accounts.
Prosecutors say those who wanted to get the pictures taken down were redirected to another one of Bollaert's sites, ChangeMyReputation.com. There, the victims were charged $300 to $350 to have their photos removed.
State law prohibits anyone from putting identifiable nude photos online after a breakup, punishable with $1,000 or six months in jail.
A would be cop killer in Boston recently was shot dead after shooting a police officer in the face.
The officer is still hanging on and will live, heavens knows what his life will be like when he is released.
The man who shot him had been in prison for 10 years. His crime? Trying to kill a Boston and a Massachusetts state cop years ago. His gun miss fired or some such crap.
How a piece of filth like this guy is sentenced to more time than a would be murderer is beyond me.
This story post is incomplete without pictures.
*just say’in..
As Calvin Coolidge said, “You never have to explain anything you don’t say (or do)”
Exactly.... well said.
Agreed. He is a sadistic bastard who deserves his punishment.
Who’s to say the pictures were consensual?
And his mother testified against him?
Good. Rot in jail you bum.
I assume that the photos just “dropped out of the ceilings” into the hands of the guys who then posted them. Otherwise they might mention that angle too.
For those idiots that submitted photos to this criminal, they better be nervous, because they are next in line for damages, and rightly so.
This thread is useless without URLs.
I am so screwed.
The issue was not that the victims were embarrassed. The guy got eighteen years—which I admit was an absurdly long sentence—for identity theft and extortion, not for embarrassing women.
If they had not done the nude photos in the first place they would not have anything to be extorted for. And, after they did them if they weren’t ashamed, there would have been no extortion. After all, with a trillion porno photos on the Internet, what makes these women so special?
6 months would have been about right.
I agree. Internet death threats, which seem to come disproportionately from Leftist wackos, should be prosecuted as felonies!
Extortion and identity theft are felonies, no matter what the victim did or didn’t do. And there were 27 counts. I agree that the sentence was ridiculous, and doubtless it will be appealed and knocked down. But you don’t get to extort money from people and engage in identity theft and then get a six-month slap on the wrist. Six months means you’re out in five or less, and you serve in a comparatively tolerable environment.
Leave the prurient elements out of the story for a minute and ask yourself: would you feel the same way if the perp extorted money from an innocent business owner? People get sent to prison for that, too. A lot of people who have done absolutely nothing wrong have been the victims of identity theft, and it’s a serious, ugly crime that takes years to repair.
People who don’t do things they are ashamed of need not worry about extortion.
spoken like probably a porn addict...I suspect there’s many here on FR...I dare you to post your picture....
I am sure that you would have a lot to be ashamed of if the nude photos you have allowed to be taken of yourself were put on the Internet, but most decent people I know don’t have nude photos of themselves anywhere, much less nude photos they have shared with others.
I suggest that you keep your clothes on when there are cameras around, or, if you must show your privates, accept that they may end up where someone else can see them.
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