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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 28, 2014 11:48 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Thomas P. Murt |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Unlawful Dissemination of Intimate Image |
| In the near future, I will introduce legislation addressing what is commonly referred to as “revenge porn.” This is a practice where one intimate partner takes a photograph of another intimate partner and then posts the photograph of the other on the Internet or another venue in order to cause the person emotional distress. It seems to me that Pennsylvania needs to take a two-pronged approach with respect to this practice. Hence, my bill establishes a criminal offense and also allows a victim to bring a civil cause of action in order to recover damages due to loss of reputation, among other losses. First, this legislation creates the offense of Unlawful Dissemination of Intimate Image within the Crimes Code. The offense is committed if “with intent to cause emotional distress to the person depicted, the person disseminates a visual depiction of another person in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct.” The offense is graded as a misdemeanor of the third degree and carries a penalty of a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months, or both. Under this legislation, each violation constitutes a separate offense. The term “emotional distress” has the same meaning given to it in 18 PaCS 2709.1 Stalking. The bill also provides concurrent jurisdiction to the Attorney General in terms of prosecution and states that a person may be prosecuted as long as the victim or the offender is located within Pennsylvania. This so-called “long-arm jurisdiction” is essential when offenders can be located outside the Commonwealth, which is a common occurrence in the Electronic Age. Such “long-arm jurisdiction” is already found in Pennsylvania’s anti-cyber enticer statute, the statute which criminalizes trolling the Internet for child victims. Second, the legislation establishes a civil cause of action based upon this offense. The language in the cause of action is modelled after Damages in Actions for Identity Theft and Unauthorized Use of Name or Likeness, both of which are found in the Judicial Code. Each allow a victim to bring a civil cause of action. The damages for which the victim may recover in my bill are the same as that of the identity theft statute: damages include loss of money, reputation or property, whether real or personal. In addition, just like with identity theft, the court may award reasonable attorney fees and court costs, as well as order additional relief the court deems necessary and proper. |
Introduced as HB2107