She is in California and just Publicly Threatened President Trump with “Revenge Porn”, Where is the California Attorney General and why wasn’t she and her Lawyer immediately Arrested??
What is “Revenge Porn”?
Revenge porn becomes an issue when a sexual relationship ends on a bad note, and one party seeks revenge, money or simply entertainment at the expense of the victims privacy, as long as the required elements of the crime are present.
It is a form of ‘non-consensual pornography’, and the images are usually shared online. Since 2013, California has specifically outlawed “revenge porn” in Penal Code Section 647(J)(4):
In California, it is a crime to post publicly or otherwise electronically distribute a digital image of another identifiable person’s “intimate body parts”, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person in order to “harass, cause fear in, or lead to injury of that person”.
Required Elements of PC 647(J)(4)
There is a violation of California’s revenge porn statute if:
A person has possession of a sexual image of another person;
He or she intentionally distributes the image;
There was an understanding that the image would be private;
The perpetrator knew that distribution would cause serious emotional distress; and
The victim actually suffers serious emotional distress.
The law applies when the distribution would likely incite or produce “harassment” by a third party.
“harassment” means a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that any reasonable person would consider seriously tormenting, terrorizing, annoying or alarming to the person, and that serves no other legitimate purpose.
Prosecuting “Revenge Porn”
To prove this crime, the criminal prosecutor must show that the defendant:
took pictures or videos of another person’s intimate body parts, with the mutual understanding that such images will be kept confidential; AND
distributes such images, where the victim is identifiable; AND
has the intent to cause serious emotional distress to the victim; AND
the victim actually suffers emotional distress.
Intent can be hard to prove in the criminal courts, and the prosecution bears the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
A good criminal defense attorney will find several good arguments to mitigate or eliminate the element of intent.
Let’s hope Trump’s lawyer has that ammo ready and is just waiting for the right moment to use it. He’s already threatened to sue her for $20 million for breach of contract.