California 'revenge porn' site operator sentenced to 18 years
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A California man who was the mind behind a “revenge porn” website, where he posted more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos so he could then use a second site to extort the victims for as much as $350 each to remove the illicit content, was sentenced Friday to 18 years in state prison, the attorney general’s office said.
Kevin Bollaert, 28, was convicted in February of 21 counts of identity theft and six counts of extortion in San Diego Superior Court for running a pair of websites that capitalized on the Internet as a forum for public shaming.
Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com in December 2012, which allowed jilted lovers and hackers from across the country to anonymously post private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, unlike similar revenge porn sites, ugotposted.com required the posted to include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link.
Victims included teachers, wives and professionals. The compromising photos cost people jobs, damaged relationships and led one person to attempt suicide.
After posting the content, Bollaert created a second website called changemyreputation.com, where he would contact the victims and offer to remove the content for a price.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bollaert earned nearly $900 a month in website ad revenue and collected about $30,000 from victims.
Bollaert’s lawyer claimed during the trial that the business was gross and offensive but did not break the law by allowing others to post the material.
FoxNews.com’s Karl de Vries, Christina Corbin and The Associated Press contributed to this report