REVENGE PORN SITE OPERATOR SENTENCED

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

East County News Service

April 4, 2015 (San Diego) – A San Diego man who operated a revenge porn site called UGotPosted.com has been sentenced to 18 years in jail after being convicted on 21 counts of identity theft and six counts of extortion.  Kevin Bollaert is the first person in the nation prosecuted for operating a revenge porn site.

Bollaert’s website encouraged people to post nude images, names and locations of their ex-spouses or partners –without the permission of the victims.  He then charged victims money to remove their photos and other information, such as links to their Facebook and other social media accounts, through another site he ran called ChangeMyReputation. The UT San Diego reports Bollaert made over $30,000 from this extortion.

Bollaert, told a special agent for the state Attorney General’s office that he started the site because “it was just fun…”

But for the victims, the experience was anything but fun. Strangers posted explicit comments and some victims reported threats, causing victims to fear for their safety. One woman told the judge she became homeless after her parents learned of the photos and threw her out of their home.

Bollaert has been ordered to pay restitution to the victims. He will serve his time in County Jail, since his offenses were nonviolent, and could be eligible for parole after nine years.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.