Two New Laws Take Aim at Those Accused of Posting Revenge Pornography

(INDIANAPOLIS) — Two new Indiana laws are taking aim at people who post intimate images from previous or current relationships online without consent.

One of the new laws that took effect Monday would make posting revenge porn a misdemeanor for a first offense, and a felony for a second offense.

Lawmakers approved the measure after Republican Sen. Aaron Freeman sponsored it for a third straight year. Freeman says that as a former prosecutor and now a private attorney, he’s seen firsthand cases of revenge porn aimed solely at hurting or embarrassing a spouse of significant other.

He tells The Journal Gazette that “this stuff needs to end.”

Indiana’s other new revenge porn law permits civil lawsuits against someone accused of distributing nude or inmate images, and allows plaintiffs to pursue monetary damages.

Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net