Oregon issues first sentence over revenge porn, a year after ban
Benjamin Barber, 31, sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation after publishing videos of himself and a partner without the partners consent
Oregon has handed down its first sentence for publishing revenge porn, more than a year after lawmakers forbade posting explicit images or video online without consent of the people involved.
Benjamin Barber, 31, was sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation, said detective Robert Rookhuyzen, a spokesman for the Washington County sheriffs department.
In June, Barber posted pornographic videos of himself with a former partner, without that persons consent, to multiple adult web sites, Rookhuyzen said in a statement.
The complainant reported that the videos were made with consent while the person was in an intimate relationship with Mr Barber, Rookhuyzen said.
However, after they terminated their relationship, Mr Barber uploaded several of these videos to multiple adult websites without the complainants knowledge or consent.
Sheriffs deputies arrested Barber in July. After a two-day trial in November, a jury convicted Barber on five counts of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image.
Rookhuyzen said Barbers former partner did not want to speak to the press. Barber defended his actions to local KOIN 6 news, saying the videos were copyrighted and legal pornography.
There was a lot of evidence that was not included in the testimony, specifically like the fact that we were both advertising to produce porn commercially, he said.
If I go saying that I want to make porn, get paid for making porn and then complain that the porn I asked people to pay me for is then public, do I have a right to be embarrassed?
I think its literally unconstitutional.
A sergeant with the Washington County sheriffs department, Bob Ray, told the local station that even if a video was made with consent, publication without permission could break the law.
If you use the internet with the intent to harass or embarrass or basically demand someone, and there is sexually explicit material, and you can identify the other person who has not given their consent, thats essentially the threshold, Ray said. Even if the video was taken consensually.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/oregon-revenge-porn-sentence-benjamin-barber
