Missouri currently has a bill in the legislature that will make revenge porn against the law in the State of Missouri.

What is Revenge Porn?

While the term revenge porn seems very self explanatory, the term can also be misleading. The typical scenario is where two people are in a relationship and they send each other explicit photographs or videos, they break up and the scorned party uploads those photographs or videos to the internet. While this is the most notable way of revenge porn, technically any non-consensual pornography disseminated to the masses, in the majority of states, is considered revenge pornography.

What States Already Have The Law?

Currently there are about 38 states, and the District of Columbia, with revenge porn laws on the books, making revenge porn a criminal act in their states. Those states include:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Proposed Law

Early this year, Missouri Representative Jim Neely with the assistance of Representative Kevin Engler introduced House Bill Number 706. You can read the full Bill here. The proposed Act will amend Chapter 573, RSMo, by adding a new section relating to the offense of non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images.

If you noticed, the Representatives used the term “images” which would lead you to believe this Act will not include videos. Reading into the definitions of what the Legislature is defining “images” as they mean, “a photograph, film, videotape, digital recording, or other depiction or portrayal of an object, including a human body.” So, it's clear video and digital recordings will be included in the new law.

The Elements

The Bill proposes, a person commits non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images if he or she:

1. Intentionally disseminates an image of another person:

(a) who is at least 18 years of age;

(b) who is identifiable from the image itself or information displayed in connection with the image; and

(c)who is engaged in a sexual act or whose intimate parts are exposed, in whole or in part;

2. Obtains the image under circumstances in which a reasonable person would know or understand that the image was to remain private; and

3. Knows or should have known that the person in the image has not consented to the dissemination.

Penalty

Violation of this proposed Bill will be classified as a Class D Felony offense. With a Class D Felony is the State of Missouri, the penalty is up to 7 years in prison and fines up to $10,000.

If you’ve been accused of revenge porn contact Howard Law at (314) 833-3505 for immediate assistance.

About The Author

Evan M. Howard is the managing attorney for Howard Law, a St. Louis business law and criminal defense law firm based in Clayton, Missouri. Howard Law is focused on giving honest, quick and effective representation to all of its clients. With a background in business and experience dealing with tough criminal prosecution cases, Howard Law is ready to help guide you through your legal matter.

#StLouisCriminalDefeselawyer #StLouisCriminalLawyer #StLouisCriminalDefenseLawyer #StLouisCriminalDefenseAttorney #MissouriCriminalDefenseAttorney #missouricriminaldefenseattorney #MissouriSexCrimes #MissouriSexCrimesAttorney #StLouisSexCrimes #StLouisSexCrimeAttorney