25 In-Depth: Advocates hopeful Mass. will finally criminalize nonconsensual porn

Alex Hagerty said he remembers the day he got messages from strangers about sexually explicit videos they found of him on a popular social media website.

Immediately, he said he put the pieces together – he realized a former partner had taken videos of them without ever telling him. Hagerty said he found out the partner posted the sexually explicit content online the same day they broke up.

“It felt like a stab to the heart,” Hagerty said. “I felt like everything went black.”

He says he went to the police, who told him there was nothing they could do.

Hagerty said he soon learned a tough lesson: “That revenge porn is legal in Massachusetts, that somebody can use revenge porn as a way to destroy somebody’s character, defame their reputation, attack their family, and utterly destroy their life.”

ONE IN TWELVE

As many as one in twelve adult social media users have been victims of nonconsensual pornography, according to the advocacy group Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.

And one in 20 adult social media users have perpetrated what’s often called revenge porn – also known as nonconsensual pornography, or image-based sexual harassment or abuse.

But Massachusetts is one of only two states – along with South Carolina – that has yet to criminalize so-called revenge porn.

For years, advocacy groups and survivors have urged state and local governments nationwide to outlaw the practice.

Nonconsensual pornography refers to the sharing of images obtained either without consent - through hidden cameras or hacking phones, for example – or with consent, like sexually explicit selfies.

“The impact on survivors is very much in line with and consistent with the trauma experienced by sexual assault survivors when they talk about the violation of what it means to have one’s sexually explicit images out in the world without their consent,” said Hema Sarang-Sieminski, Deputy Director of advocacy coalition Jane Doe Inc, also known as the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.

A NEW BILL

State Sen. John Keenan, a Democrat whose district includes Norfolk and Plymouth counties, has filed legislation to legally go after anyone who knowingly distributes visual material depicting a person nude, partially nude or engaged in sexual conduct. The House version is sponsored by state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, a Democrat who’s long tried to pass legislation addressing teen sexting.

The legislation would allow law enforcement to press charges against anyone who “knowingly distributes visual material depicting another person… who is nude, partially nude or engaged in sexual conduct.. and it causes physical or economic injury or emotional distress.”

“I think it empowers those who have been victimized and is an important step to its healing,” Keenan told Investigative Reporter and Anchor Kerry Kavanaugh. “And that’s not to say that everybody will choose to press criminal charges, but having that available to them, I think, is really important.”

Those found guilty of the crime of criminal harassment could face 2.5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, under Keenan’s bill.

A second or subsequent offense could result in up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The bill includes provisions aimed at ensuring minors get diverted to educational programs.

The legislation would require the attorney general to develop a “comprehensive educational diversion program” to teach teenagers about the legal consequences of posting explicit images online.

“Sometimes these things are circulated within moments across an entire class or a school,” Sarang-Sieminski said.

The court would indefinitely stay arraignment for juvenile defendants who allegedly share or possess explicit images of children. Courts could consider any objections raised by a district attorney, and arraign juveniles who don’t complete diversion programs.

In certain scenarios, minors who possess or upload explicit content of others could face 6 months commitment to the department of youth services and/or a $500 fine.

LONG PUSH TO CRIMINALIZE

Efforts to ban revenge porn in Massachusetts date back to 2017.

“The reality that there was really no protection available to survivors who experienced this kind of harm,” Sarang-Sieminski said, “that was really at the heart of what so many advocates really were hoping to address. You know, they would say, we can’t do anything about this. And that was very striking.”

In 2017, ACLU Massachusetts’s deputy legal director said the state needed to figure out how to address image-based harassment while protecting freedom of expression.

The director said victims could sue or seek extortion charges, as an alternative.

The ACLU also raised concerns that a bill filed by former Governor Charlie Baker would have allowed prosecutors to charge minors with a misdemeanor for possession or distribution of sexually explicit images of children.

A spokesperson for the ACLU didn’t respond to multiple emailed requests for comment about the group’s stance on the latest legislation.

But by 2022, lawmakers appeared poised to criminalize nonconsensual pornography.

Several survivors of revenge porn spoke to lawmakers in January 2022 during a Joint Committee on the Judiciary hearing.

In May, the Massachusetts House unanimously passed a bill to ban revenge porn.

In July, the Judiciary Committee’s Senate Chair, James Eldridge told the State House News Service when asked about the state’s hesitation on passing a revenge porn bill: “Probably, it’s a case where law enforcement and, with all due respect, media have been very, very laser-focused on this even though it’s not a particularly severe problem in Massachusetts.”

In the final days of 2022, the state Senate began considering an amended version of the bill.

By early January, the Senate passed the amended bill by a voice vote.

But there wasn’t enough time for lawmakers to agree on a compromise bill to send to the governor by deadline.

“It passed the House of Representatives and then it came to the Senate,” Keenan said. “And it didn’t pass the Senate until very late in the session. And so we were unable to get it across the finish line, so to speak, to the governor’s desk because it was passed so late.”

‘CLEAR THIS HAS TO BE ADDRESSED’

The senator said that stories from survivors finally got lawmakers’ attention.

“As we pushed the legislation through the end of the last session, there were conversations,” Keenan said. “I had conversations with my colleagues, colleagues that might have wondered what the bill does. Is it necessary? Colleagues who might have been a little hesitant or weren’t fully aware of what was going on out there. Those conversations were held, and as I had those conversations, I think there was a growing awareness of the need for this.”

Keenan said it doesn’t matter if the issue impacts thousands of people, or just a handful.

“When I’ve spoken to individuals that have been the victims of this and to their family members, they incredibly look beyond themselves,” Keenan said. “But even if it was just that one person, it’s clear that this has to be addressed.”

Keenan said he’s hopeful about the bill’s chance of passage this year, and said he hasn’t seen any group opposing the legislation.

Hagerty, a selectman in Abington, said he feels lucky that his images were taken down – though he’s worried about the footprint of any images uploaded online.

“I was able to confront my vengeful former partner and get the images and videos taken down,” Hagerty said. “But not everyone in Massachusetts has that same opportunity as I have. And then they contemplate taking their own lives, harming themselves, or doing damage to their life.”

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Those looking for support can reach out to crisis hotlines:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a network of local crisis centers that are available 24/7 to provide support for youth and adults who are in any kind of emotional crisis.

• SafeLink: 1-877-785-2020

SafeLink is for anyone who is being affected by domestic violence or dating violence. Volunteers at SafeLink speak English and Spanish, and SafeLink also has a service that can provide translation in more than 130 languages.

• CCRI Image Abuse Helpline at 1-844-878-2274

If you are a victim or survivor of Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA), please visit the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Safety Center or call the CCRI Image Abuse Helpline, which is available free of charge, 24/7.

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