Portland, Ore. – The first individual has been prosecuted and sentenced under Oregon’s new revenge porn law.
According to Washington County Sheriff’s office, Benjamin J. Barber was sentenced on Thursday morning. He received 6 months in jail and 5 years of probation.
In July, Barber was arrested for posting several pornographic videos of himself and a person he had once been in an intimate relationship with. According to authorities, when that relationship ended, Barber uploaded the videos to several adult websites without permission.
Barber was convicted of five counts of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, Oregon’s new revenge porn law.
Barber told KOIN 6 News the videos were copyrighted porn videos, and he has the right to post them wherever he wants.
Barber said he’s the victim, and the woman he shared videos of tried to use them against him as blackmail.
Sgt. Bob Ray with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office spoke with KOIN 6 News and explained 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, that’s essentially the threshold. If a person does that, they are essentially violating the law. even just posting it on Facebook. Yes, even if the video was taken consensually,” Ray said.
