Members of a House committee voted unanimously Thursday in support of a measure to criminalize revenge porn.
The legislation, which has already passed the Senate and now heads to the full House, prohibits distributing nude photos without the subject’s consent, and makes the crime a Class B felony, punishable by 3½ to seven years in prison.
“This is one of those bills that’s tamping down on really really mean-spirited, bad behavior,” said Rep. John Martin, a Republican from Bow and a member of the committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, which voted, 13-0, in favor of the proposal. “That’s all you can say about this.”
More than two dozen states have enacted similar laws. Proponents here, including law enforcement, victim advocates and the attorney general’s office, have said the proposal is needed to stifle a troubling practice that can traumatize victims for years.
“Once a picture is out there on the internet, it’s out there forever,” said Rep. Len Disesa, a Democrat from Dover.
The bill received some pushback early on for what some saw as an overly harsh punishment, but attorneys in support of it said the threshold for proving the offense will be high, and that the measure will only apply to people who show a clear intent to threaten or shame others, like a former spouse or other romantic partner.
“The intent has to be really to damage the person who’s picture is being posted,” said Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Woodcock, addressing the committee at a hearing Thursday morning.
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn, who is sponsoring the bill, said the effort grew out of a realization by prosecutors that no state law applies directly to the practice, which is growing in popularity across the country.
“It’s about an invasion of privacy,” Woodburn told the committee Thursday. “The people who are doing this are pretty sophisticated,” he said. “They’re pretty brazen. They use intimidation as a tool.”
(Jeremy Blackman can be reached at 369-3319, jblackman@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JBlackmanCM.)