‘Revenge porn’ bill is set for governor’s desk

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A bill headed to the governor to be signed into law would make “revenge porn” a crime.

Senate Bill 1257 would make it a misdemeanor to intentionally disseminate an explicit image of another person with an intent to harass or humiliate.

“This is a purely destructive act that almost exclusively targets women, and it should be a crime,” said Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City.

“We are simply acknowledging today that our statutes have to keep up with modern crimes. This act should never have been socially acceptable, but to this point it has been legally acceptable. I am very hopeful that is about to change.”

The measure also gives judges the ability to order the image be removed, if possible.

SB 1257 provides that a person commits a crime when they intentionally disseminate an image of another identifiable person who is engaged in a sexual act or is nude; they obtained the image under circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to know that the image was private; the image was disseminated with an intent to harass, intimidate, or coerce, and they knew or should have known that the dissemination was nonconsensual.

Someone convicted of the crime can be sentenced to up to one year in a county jail, and given a fine of up to $1,000.