The House Judiciary Committee has acted unanimously to criminalize what has typically been termed “revenge porn”. The measure includes penalties for distributors and web sites which knowingly post such material.
The bill prohibits the distribution of sexually explicit images without consent. Close to 40 states have similar legislation. Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders says there is currently no deterrence for such activity under Kentucky law. “It’s a lot easier to discourage the activity if there’s a known possible punishment out there for it,” said Sanders. “Right now, we have no punishment for it, so we have to way to discourage the activity.”
While it was initially seen with teenagers, Sanders says there are now more adult victims. The bill sets out both misdemeanor and felony charges for distributors of material and civil penalties for internet web sites used to publish such material.
