revenge porn

Oregon Man Becomes First Sentenced to Jail Time Under State’s Revenge-Porn Law

Benjamin Barber. Photo: Courtesy of KOIN6

As revenge porn began to increase in popularity, 34 states and the District of Columbia passed laws in attempt to hold those who disseminate such media accountable. Oregon, which outlawed revenge porn in early 2015, just sentenced the first person convicted of the crime in the state.

In July, 31-year-old Benjamin Barber was arrested after he posted private sex tapes he had filmed with a now-ex-girlfriend to several pornographic sites, reports KOIN5. On Thursday, Barber was charged with five counts of “unlawful dissemination of an intimate image,” and received a sentence of six months in jail. He will also serve five years probation.

In an interview he initiated with KOIN5, he said that his ex had first tried to blackmail him with the videos and that he was not in the wrong. His argument was “that if a person owns the copyright and it’s them who appears in it, then they shouldn’t be arrested or charged.”

Barber also called the law “literally unconstitutional.”

Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Under State’s Revenge-Porn Law