The California attorney general’s office released a statement today saying they had arrested a San Diego man related to charges that he was running a “revenge porn” website where he had posted over 10,000 sexually explicit photographs without the permission of the subjects.
According to the statement, Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.
California attorney general statement on revenge porn
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said, “This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives.”
Details of the alleged scam
Prosecutors claim that Bollaert created the Web site ugotposted.com in December 2012. The website encouraged visitors to post private photographs with nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. The site also required that all images have the subject’s full name, address, age and social media profiles included as well.
According to legal filings, the activity veered to criminal when Bollaert created another website named changemyreputation.com, where victims had to pay $250 to $350 to have their information removed from ugotposted.com. Prosecutors allege that Bollaert has collected more than $10,000 from victimsto have their images and information removed from ugotposted.com.
Revenge Porn’s Bollaert statement
“Yeah, I realize like this is not a good situation,” Bollaert told law enforcement when arrested. “I feel bad about the whole thing and like I just don’t want to do it anymore. I mean I know a lot of people are getting screwed over like on the site. Like their lives are getting ruined.”
Bollaert also said he was just trying to have fun. “At the beginning, it was fun and entertaining, but now it’s just like ruining my life,” he reportedly told authorities.
Bollaert is currently being held in San Diego County Jail on $50,000 bail and faces both incarceration and fines if convicted. The charges include felonies related to obtaining personal identifying information for unlawful purposes, including the intent to annoy or harass.
Also see: CA State Issues Cease & Desist Order Against Bitcoin Foundation
