Stamford Sextortion Lawyer

Whether the alleged purpose is to force someone else to effectively pay ransom money or harm them in some way, threatening to publicly release private intimate images and releasing such images without the depicted person’s consent can be prosecuted harshly under the Connecticut Penal Code. If you have been accused of either of these acts and are now facing criminal sex charges as a result, you have help available to you from a knowledgeable Stamford sextortion lawyer who has experience handling cases like yours effectively.

“Revenge Porn” as a Criminal Offense in Stamford

Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) § 53a-189c is the section of the Connecticut Penal Code that addresses the offense sometimes colloquially referred to as “revenge porn”—in other words, unlawfully disseminating one or more “intimate images” without the depicted person’s consent specifically to harm them without there being any financial component to the act. More specifically, someone violates this statute if their actions meet all the following criteria:

• The material in question showed the depicted person’s genitals, buttocks, pubic area, or female breast below the top of the nipple with less than a fully opaque covering over it, and/or showed that person engaged in sexual intercourse;
• The depicted person had a reasonable expectation that the image(s) would remain private and did not consent to their dissemination;
• The depicted person is clearly identifiable either through distinguishing features visible in the image(s) or information accompanying the image(s)—for example, a caption with their name in it;
• The dissemination of the image did not serve the public interest in any way;
• The depicted person was not voluntarily exposing themselves and/or engaged in intercourse in a public place or a commercial setting; and/or
• The depicted person suffered some form of harm—financial, physical, emotional, psychological, social, or otherwise—as a direct result of the dissemination.

This offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the image in question was sent to just one other person, and is a Class D felony if it was sent to multiple people over any computer, telecommunications, or information service. As a Stamford sextortion attorney can explain, this means maximum penalties upon conviction could range from one year of incarceration and $2,000 in fines to five years of incarceration and $5,000 in fines.

How State Courts Handle Criminal Extortion

If someone threatens to disseminate another person’s intimate images without the depicted person’s consent unless that depicted person pays them not to, the person who made that threat may face prosecution for Extortion if they get any amount of money—or anything else of value—as a result of the scheme, even if they did not actually disseminate the image(s) in question. As per C.G.S. § 53a-122, anyone who commits Larceny of any amount of money or property through Extortion has committed Larceny in the First Degree, a Class B felony.

Even first-time offenders convicted of “sextortion” of this nature may face between one and 20 years of imprisonment plus up to $15,000 in fines. Needless to say, representation from a seasoned sextortion defense lawyer is vital to effectively handling accusations like this in Stamford.

Consider Working With a Stamford Sextortion Attorney

Sextortion allegations can cause significant damage to your personal and professional reputation, even if they do not lead to any criminal sanctions—and if they do, those sanctions may include thousands of dollars in fines and years of imprisonment. That said, you have a right to defend yourself from these accusations as well as the right to seek help from private legal counsel in doing so, and you should take advantage of both those rights if you want a shot at a favorable case result.

Call the Law Offices of Mark Sherman today to learn how a Stamford sextortion lawyer could assist you, and click here to read what past clients have to say about working with our team.