My question involves criminal law for the state of:VA
How would one go about pressing charges on someone who took personal material and used it to embarrass and harass someone?
My question involves criminal law for the state of:VA
How would one go about pressing charges on someone who took personal material and used it to embarrass and harass someone?
What exactly has he done?
Not in VA, and state laws vary. But even if he did something illegal under your state's law, practically speaking, this will be a difficult prosecution, and some prosecutors won't even touch it. There's a lot to prove - and doing so will take a lot of resources and be expensive for the state - for a relatively non-serious crime (assuming you are over 18), for a situation that you helped to put yourself in.
I hope you've learned a valuable lesson about who you choose to send naked/semi-nude pictures to.
When you say "took", do you mean they STOLE material from you? If not, how did they come to be in possession of the material?
There's generally no law preventing a person from "embarassing" another. Much would depend on the facts, and you've provided none.
Same with "harassment", you'll have to be much more specific. Are you being blackmailed, or do you just not like that you did something that you're ashamed about? (If the latter, you're likely out of luck.) Criminal charges are likely out of the question, for the reasons DeputyDog mentioned. (Oh, and did you KNOW the photos were being taken at the time? Or were these taken without your knowledge? If you're posing in them, you're really done.)
Unless they are making money by publishing the photos, a civil case isn't likely to get you anywhere either.
Taken without my knowledge. I'm a very modest person and I would never consent to such! That's why it's embarrassing. Now it's being posted to various websites.
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Thank you for your reply with advice, but please don't assume that this is a situation that I "helped put myself in". That is most certainly not the case. And my ex that is doing this is the father of my children and we were married for six years.
Well, even though you probably are the victim of a crime, as taking the pictures and distributing them without your consent is most likely illegal, it's going to be really hard to prosecute. In fact, I strongly doubt that they would take the case and charge him.
You've got to realize, having been married to him for 6 years, what his defense attorney will do if he takes it to trial. His lawyer will raise the possibility that you consented to having the pictures taken (even if you didn't) and the situation will become very muddy, with your word against his. Having a situation that muddy usually equals reasonable doubt as to his guilt, hence an acquittal.
I think your best bet is to talk to a lawyer and pursue this civilly.
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Also, I'm glad you changed the title of this thread. "Revenge Porn" does indeed hold the connotation that these were pictures you sent him, hence the "assumption" on our part.
Revenge porn is a thing, actually. (it's usually just actors, however) The presumption is, sometime while they are still together, (or after they break up if the guy is a smooth talker) he surrepticiously (yeah, I know spelled it wrong) takes video of the girl in compromising situations, and then posts it all over the internet for the world to see, and to humiliate the girl.
I think you have part of it right, but my understanding is that the pictures involved in "revenge porn" were usually taken and sent to the person possessing them with full consent and intention. Then, the person who has them, after a breakup, spreads them around - hence the revenge.
Of course, we aren't talking about legal definitions here, so I suppose there could be multiple definitions depending on who is using the term.