What You Need to Know About California’s Revenge Porn Law (PC 647(j)(4))

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In 2013, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 255, which made it a crime to create and distribute “revenge porn.” Taking effect Jan. 1, 2014, California’s revenge porn law amended California Penal Code Section 647 to include PC 647(j)(4).

The revenge porn laws in California are very important. In the current day and age, you should be aware of what these laws are and how you can avoid facing revenge porn charges. Let’s take a deeper dive into California’s revenge porn laws.

California Revenge Porn Laws

Under PC 647(j)(4), an act of revenge porn is defined as someone who “photographs or records by any means the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, under circumstances where the parties agree or understand that the image shall remain private, and the person subsequently distributes the image taken, with the intent to cause serious emotional distress, and the depicted person suffers serious emotional distress.” ³

In simpler terms, this law means that it is illegal to post explicit images of someone online without their consent. If the images contain multiple people, it does not matter if you have the consent of one of the parties in the image. As long as one person who can be identified in the image did not give consent, you could be charged under the revenge porn law.

The bill defines “intimate body parts” as any portion of genitalia and breasts below the top of the areola. Intimate body parts do not need to be completely exposed, as the bill includes any portion of genitalia or breasts visible through clothing which is less than opaque.

Revenge Porn Penalties (PC 647(j)(4))

PC 647(j)(4) classifies revenge porn as a matter of disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor in California. If you are convicted of this crime, a first offense could land you in county jail for up to six months and you could also be fined up to $1,000 fine under PC 647.⁴

If the victim was a minor at the time the picture was taken, or if you are convicted for a second offense, you could face up to 364 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.⁵

Valid Legal Defenses to Revenge Porn Charges in California

In order to convict you of violating California revenge porn laws under PC 64(j)(4), the prosecution must prove all of the following elements:

• You have an image of the intimate body part of another identifiable person, or an image of that person engaging in sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation or masturbation,
• You intentionally distributed that image by any means (electronic or otherwise),
• There was an understanding between you and the person depicted in the image(s) that the image would remain private between you two,
• You knew that distributing the image(s) could cause the person in the image to suffer serious emotional distress, AND
• Your actions caused the person in the image(s) to suffer serious emotional distress²

If you are facing revenge porn charges, an experienced revenge porn lawyer may be able to show that your act does not meet all of these requirements. Our skilled revenge porn attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have used the following legal defenses to help our clients obtain favorable outcomes in their cases:

• The person in the images is not identifiable – When you look at the image(s) in question, you must be able to identify the person in the image. Therefore, you may have a valid legal defense to revenge porn charges if the image is cropped or edited to remove any identifying features, which could include the person’s fact, birthmarks, tattoos and personal items.
• You did not intentionally distribute the image – If you accidentally shared the image(s) in question, you cannot be convicted of violating California revenge porn laws. For example, let’s say you send a picture of your children in a group message, only you accidentally sent the wrong picture. In this case, you do not meet the elements required to convict you under PC 647(j)(4).
• Sharing the image did not cause the alleged victim to suffer emotional distress – An experienced revenge porn lawyer may be able to argue that your intent was not to cause emotional distress to the person depicted in the image(s) by sharing the image(s). Your lawyer may also be able to argue that the alleged victim did not actually suffer emotional distress as a result of the incident.

Call an Experienced Revenge Porn Lawyer Today

If you are being charged with a crime under California revenge porn laws, you need to speak to an experienced sex crimes defense attorney immediately. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have over 35 years of experience successfully defending our clients accused of sex crimes. We can help you achieve the best possible outcome in your case.

With offices in Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, West Covina, Torrance, Los Angeles and San Diego, there is a knowledgeable Wallin & Klarich revenge porn attorney who can help you no matter where you are located.

Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245 for a free telephone consultation. We will get through this together.

<sup>1. [http://www.abc15.com/news/state/county-attorney-bill-montgomery-revenge-porn-cases-hard-to-prosecute]↩
2. [http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/03/us/califomia-revenge-porn-sentence/]↩
3. [http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB255]↩
4. [http://www.southerncaliforniadefenseblog.com/2013/10/revenge_porn_law_passed_in_california.html]↩
5. [http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB255]↩</sup>