American convicted over ‘revenge porn’ website scam

A U.S. man was convicted in San Diego on Monday of extortion and identity theft for running a "revenge porn" website hosting over 10,000 sexually explicit photos.

Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 28, had denied 31 counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion over the racket, which allegedly earned him tens of thousands of dollars.

He could face up to 24 years in prison. A sentencing date was not immediately set.

Bollaert was accused of creating the website ugotposted.com in December 2012, allowing explicit photos to be posted without the subject's permission.

The website "turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives," California's Attorney General Kamala Harris said at the time.

The photos, commonly known as revenge porn, are typically obtained consensually during a relationship but then posted without permission, or are simply stolen or hacked.

Unlike other revenge porn websites where photos are anonymous, ugotposted.com required the poster to include the subject's full name, location, age and Facebook profile link.

Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com asking for their photos to be removed from the site.

He then allegedly extorted victims by offering, from the changemyreputation website, to remove content from ugotposted.com for a fee of up to $350, allegedly making tens of thousands of dollars, according to court documents.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law banning revenge porn in October 2013.