Westchester County Revenge Porn Law
Westchester County and Revenge Porn
Unlike Suffolk County, Nassau County, and New York City, Westchester County does not have its own revenge porn law. This does not mean that victims are not able to sue their abusers under the New York State Revenge Porn Law, Civil Rights Law 52-B. When the state revenge porn law was enacted in 2019, the Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. issued a statement on the new law:
“Today, the New York State Legislature passed an Anti-Revenge Porn Law putting in place protections for victims of nonconsensual dissemination of explicit images. We commend our lawmakers for taking this important stance.
“Revenge porn is cruel and insidious, another kind of intimate partner violence with great collateral effect. It can shatter a person’s self-esteem, their relationships with those around them and, through a digital trail, can affect a person’s career, education and future opportunities. With this law* on the books, we will prosecute to the fullest those who would perpetrate this crime and help victims regain their faith in the judicial system.”
The District Attorney’s full statement can be read here.
Civil Remedies Available to Westchester Victims of Revenge Porn
If your images were shared on a website such as Pornhub, xHamster, or YouPorn, you can file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court building, located at 111 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, White Plains, New York. A lawsuit initiated pursuant to Civil Rights Law 52-B must allege all the elements of the law. Civil lawsuits can seek money damages as well as an injunction preventing your abuser from continuing to share the images or videos or following through on their threat to do so.
Family Court May be an Option
Another option for individuals affected by revenge porn is to file a Family Offense Petition in Westchester Family Court. Westchester currently has three family courts, one in White Plains, one in Yonkers, and another in New Rochelle.
In order to file a Family Offense Petition for revenge porn, it is necessary that you have an “intimate relationship” with the offender. An intimate relationship includes members of your family or household, but can also apply to other sorts of close relationships. If you and the offender are legally married or divorced, have a child in common, are related by marriage, are related by blood, reside or resided in the same house, or are or were in an intimate relationship, a court will likely consider you to have an intimate relationship with the offender. Intimate relationships are not necessarily sexual in nature and do not need to be current. For example, a person you once dated or your roommate might be considered an intimate relationship but your co-worker would not.While there is no hard and fast line governing the definition of an intimate relationship, courts consider the nature or type of your relationship, how often you see or saw each other, and the duration of the relationship.
A temporary order of protection can be immediately issued to prevent the images from being shared.
Revenge Porn is a Crime in Westchester
Even though there is no separate Westchester County revenge porn law, sharing images without a person’s consent is still a crime under New York Penal Law 245.15, unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image. If you have been a victim of this crime you should file a police report.