If you are or have been in a relationship for an extended period, you may have sent some less-than-appropriate photographs to your significant other. While this is not illegal (unless you’re sending them to someone who is underage), sharing these photos on social media and through text messages to friends, family, and co-workers is. Below, you will find our list of seven things you need to know about compromising photos from your ex.
1. It’s a crime to share them
This means posting, emailing, texting, snapping, or sending them in any way. In Colorado, it is a misdemeanor to distribute or post compromising photos with the intent to harass them. The prosecutor must show the photos were posted with the “intent to harass and inflict severe emotional distress” and that the photos were posted without consent and the posting actually inflicted severe emotional distress. That sounds like a great burden for the prosecutor, but juries and judges may have very little tolerance for this.
2. It’s a Crime If You Post the Photos For Money or “Pecuniary Gain”
In this case, the prosecutor just has to show the photos were private and that they were posted for money. There is not any need to show harassment or emotional distress. Posting your ex-s photos for money is a misdemeanor.
3. It’s a Civil Cause of Action
In other words, you can be sued for posting the photos. The law provides the victim can sue for the greater of $10,000 or actual damages plus attorney’s fees. The court can also order that the photos be removed.
4. The Laws That Protect Compromising Photos of You are Called “Revenge Porn” Laws
That notion was that people were posting the “porn” to seek revenge on their ex. The photos though don’t have to be pornographic, but they do have to reveal “private parts.”
5. The Photographer Loses Any Commercial Copyright
Typically, the copyright belongs to the photographer not the subject of the photo, but under the revenge porn laws, the photographer loses any right to those photos.
6. It May Not Protect Celebrities in Colorado
Both the criminal and civil laws do not apply to newsworthy events. So, if you photographed your ex naked while publically protesting fur coats, you can sell that photo and post away. The news worth exception seems to go farther and covers “public figures” and persons of “fame ”¦ that shape events.” Sorry Black Chyna and Paris Hilton, you may not be covered in Colorado.
7. Cheaters Are Covered
Yeah, there’s no exception for cheating. So, if you caught your ex cheating and have photographic proof. I wouldn’t post that either. There no moral clause in this statute and all compromising photo are covered.
Contact a Denver Divorce Attorney Today
It is important to remember that these kinds of things apply to all situations and not just after you break up or get divorced. Posting photos of someone (especially compromising ones) without their express permission is illegal. If you’ve experienced “revenge porn” or anything similar, contact an experienced Denver family law attorney to help you determine the next steps you should take!