DA Singas, NCPD Commissioner Ryder Support Legislators' Push to Make ‘Revenge Porn’ a Crime in Nassau County
Mineola, NY - January 29, 2019 - Nassau County’s top law enforcement professionals agree that residents will gain important legal protections against the rising scourge of “revenge porn” under new legislation co-sponsored by Legislators Arnold W. Drucker (D – Plainview) and Debra Mulé (D – Freeport).
Revenge porn is the non-consensual and malicious distribution of sexually explicit images for the purpose of inflicting intentional personal and professional humiliation. In a matter of keystrokes, profound physical, mental, emotional and financial harm can be caused.
Following months of research and outreach to victim-advocate groups and law enforcement leaders, Legislators Drucker and Mulé co-filed legislation which wouldmake disseminating revenge porn an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The legislation would also empower victims to seek civil damages.
“Nassau County is committed to eradicating sexual harassment wherever it exists,” Legislator Drucker said. “While the Internet has placed the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, it also allows malicious individuals to cause tremendous harm with ease. By creating the legal tools to punish perpetrators of revenge porn, we give victims of this heinous act the voice they deserve under the law.”
“As a social worker and mother of young adult daughters, I am keenly aware of the havoc that is unleashed when intimate images are maliciously distributed,” Legislator Mulé said. “Enacting a revenge-porn ban will empower Nassau County to immediately protect residents from this horrific invasion of privacy and ensure those who engage in this disturbing practice face meaningful consequences.”
At a Tuesday, Jan. 29 press conference, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder threw their support behind the legislation.
“Domestic violence cases involve power, control and manipulation, and abusers regularly use revenge pornography to target their intimate partners,” District Attorney Singas said.“As prosecutors, we frequently work with survivors who are being threatened with having their pictures sent to their job, family or posted on social media. Unfortunately, New York does not have any criminal statute that adequately addresses revenge pornography. We thank Legislators Drucker and Mulé, and the County Legislature, for taking up this important bill that will allow prosecutors to hold defendants accountable.”
“The Nassau County Police Department supports the enactment of any law that will protect individuals from harassment, coercion or bullying through the dissemination of intimate images,” Commissioner Ryder said. “A person’s privacy needs to be respected and protected at all times, and this legislation will succeed in achieving that goal.”
Currently, state law does not offer specific legal remedies for victims of revenge porn. The measure introduced by Legislators Drucker and Muléwould provide those much-needed protections immediately upon ratification.
“This legislation is an important step to protect individuals’ intimate images and videos from being shared without their consent or used for coercive means, said Josh Hanson, The Safe Center LI’s Associate Executive Director. “The Safe Center wishes to thank Legislators Drucker and Mulé, DA Singas, and Commissioner Ryder on behalf of our clients for their leadership on this issue.”
Backers of this proposal say Nassau County cannot afford to wait for the state to act on revenge porn, which can carry life and death implications. Elizabeth Osowiecki, an education coordinator and rape crisis counselor for The Safe Center, shared a chilling reminder of the potentially fatal impacts of revenge porn through the story of Audrie Pott, who died by suicide eight days after being sexually assaulted and becoming a revenge porn victim. The family’s statement reads:
“Based on what we know, she was unconscious, there were multiple boys in the room with her,” her attorney said. “They did unimaginable things to her while she was unconscious.” On Sept. 10, 2012, eight days after the alleged assault, Audrie Pott, committed suicide. We don’t always identify victims of sexual assault or suicide but have used the girl’s name in this report with her parents’ permission. They are hoping the story will help prevent something like this from ever happening to anyone else.
Audrie took her life after learning that her attackers took photos during the assault, and then published them online and showed them around school.
In the days that followed, Audrie investigated her own attack by reaching out to people who were there on Facebook.She wrote in one message, “The whole school knows...my life is ruined.”