Brooklyn’s Sen. Gounardes hails passage of bill penalizing ‘revenge porn’

March 1, 2019 By Raanan Geberer Brooklyn Daily Eagle

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes. Photo courtesy of Gounardes' office

Share this:

A Brooklyn politician was among those who helped pass a piece of legislation in the state Senate on Thursday that would criminalize “revenge porn,” the sharing of sexually explicit images or videos without the subject’s consent.

“Revenge porn is a form of sexual assault in the 21st Century,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes in a statement. “Private images released to the world by the click of a button and without consent can result in irreversible damage to a person’s life, family and career.”

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Monica Martinez of Long Island, makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison to unlawfully disseminate or publish an intimate image without the subject’s consent “with the intent to cause harm to another individual.”

An intimate image, in the bill, defined as an image showing someone in intimate contact with another person or displaying a “private part” of someone’s anatomy.

Exceptions are made when such an image is transmitted by law enforcement agencies for the purpose of prosecuting offenders, or for medical or scientific purposes.

“This important piece of legislation gives law enforcement the tools they need to further protect innocent people being exploited and victims the opportunity to seek justice,” said Gounardes, who represents Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst. “We must ensure that those guilty of these despicable crimes face appropriate punishment.”

Carrie Goldberg of the Cyber Civil Rights initiative also lauded the bill’s passage.

“This law puts sexual privacy where it belongs — in the hands of New Yorkers,” the lawyer said. “I started my firm in 2014 to fight for victims of sexual assault and stalking because I couldn’t find a lawyer when I was under attack by a vengeful ex threatening to spread pictures of me.”