Bloomfield Area Man Charged in 'Revenge Porn'

A Bloomfield Hills man was charged with a felony after he allegedly posted nude photos of his ex-girlfriend on a so-called “revenge porn” website, where authorities ay they have been viewed more than 50,000 times.

Andrew Forbes Roche, 25, was arrested in August and will go to trial in February on the charge, unlawful posting of a message, according to media reports. The charge is a two-year felony.

A complaint filed in Charlevoix County Circuit Court alleges that Roche posted the photos and her personal contact information without her consent after she ended their relationship.

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In a statement, Assistant Charlevoix County Prosecutor Gregory Justis said revenge porn is a “relatively new and particularly serious form of abuse,” MLive.com reports.

“The concept of revenge porn is simple: to use the victim’s most intimate moments and her private space — her own body — to degrade and humiliate her, and to engage thousands or millions of strangers on the Internet to participate in the act,” Justis said.

Because it’s difficult to remove photos from the Internet, the victim is “constantly victimized,” Justis said.

“Each time her photos are viewed, each time a degrading comment is posted by a stranger, each time her phone receives a call or text from an unknown number, she’s harmed in a very real way,” he said.

“The sole purpose of these websites is sexualized violence, particularly against women,” the prosecutor continued. “They are designed explicitly to turn intimacy into pain. When an individual posts nude photos on these sites without a victim’s permission or even knowledge, he exercises control over that person and receives the gratification of knowing that she’s being publicly injured.”

At least 28 U.S. states have laws against revenge porn, which typically victimizes women. A pair of bills were approved by the Michigan Senate and sent to the lower chamber, where they remain before the House Criminal Justice committee.

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