By RUSTY MARKS
The State Journal
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia Senate are considering a bill designed to combat “revenge porn.”
Members of the Senate judiciary committee voted unanimously on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 to send a bill to the Senate floor that would make it a crime to disseminate sexually explicit photos or videos through social media or other outlets without the consent of the parties involved.
Under the bill, the crime would be a misdemeanor for a first offense with a penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of $1,000 to $2,500. A second or subsequent offense could land an offender in prison for one to three years, with a fine of $2,500 to $10,000.
Under a typical revenge porn scenario, a couple will agree to take pictures or video of themselves engaged in sexual acts. But one of the parties may later post the images or video to the internet or through another outlet without the other’s consent, often after a breakup.
Victims are usually, but not always, women.
Committee member Sen. Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, said he was originally approached by students and faculty from Bethany College about the problem of revenge porn. According to students, there had been two examples of revenge porn at the school.
Bethany College criminal justice professor Zack Allman, a deputy sheriff who has spent the past several years specializing in sex and cyber crimes, told judiciary committee members he had been approached by several people who had been victims of revenge porn and was “shocked” there was nothing he could do legally to help them.
“I was really blown away by the time and energy the students put into this project,” Ferns said. Although he said the original intention of the group was not to enact legislation criminalizing revenge porn, Ferns gave the students at Bethany College credit for creating enough interest for the Legislature to come up with a bill.
Under the bill, all parties would have to consent in writing before sexually explicit images could be disseminated.
Committee member Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Upshur, said he was the father of three girls and five boys. While he said he hoped his children never agreed to take nude photos or videos, “If they should ever make that mistake, this is exactly the kind or legislation we need to protect them,” he said.
According to a 2015 survey by the nonprofit Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, about 61 percent of 1,600 people who responded to a survey about internet activity said they had taken nude photos or videos. About 23 percent said they had been victims of revenge porn.
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