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'Revenge porn' defendant agrees to plead guilty

 
Published Feb. 14, 2015

TAMPA — In the bloom of their nine-month relationship, the woman allowed her boyfriend to take sexually explicit photos and videos of her.

After the breakup and recriminations, federal prosecutors said, those images became something more than a record of a failed romance.

They became weapons.

A New Hampshire man who posted sexually explicit photos of his ex-girlfriend on the Internet and directed her friends and co-workers to the site has agreed to plead guilty in federal court next Tuesday to identity theft. Jason Michael Green, 35, faces up to five years in prison. His attorney said probation is more likely.

The case is part of what lawmakers nationally say is a growing trend of "revenge porn" where someone posts compromising photos or videos online without consent to humiliate, intimidate or harm a former lover. The victim is most often a woman.

Revenge porn by itself is not illegal in Florida or under federal law, though Florida lawmakers have introduced a measure in the upcoming Legislative session that would make it a felony. Such measures have failed in previous sessions.

Green is accused of breaking the law by stalking his former girlfriend, a physician in Pinellas County, and using her stolen identity to set up a bogus Facebook account in her name. He then sent "friend" requests to people who knew her, directing them to a website where nude photos were posted, prosecutors said.

Green, who has signed a plea agreement, will appear at a plea hearing next week. He will be sentenced in U.S. District Court at a hearing yet to be scheduled. He is held without bail at the Pinellas County Jail in the medical wing because of a suicide attempt a month before his Oct. 24 arrest.

"My client is embarrassed by this," said Green's Jacksonville attorney, Curtis Fallgatter. "The last thing he wants is publicity. He's hoping to put his life back on track and put this behind him."

Green's ex-girlfriend, who is not named in court records, and prosecutors could not be reached to comment.

Revenge porn is illegal in a handful of states, though critics that include the American Civil Liberties Union have argued that criminalizing the sharing of nude photos people lawfully own poses constitutional issues.

State Rep. Tom Goodson, R-Titusville, who is sponsoring the current revenge porn bill, said at a news conference last month that "it is not your right to bully, harass, embarrass or cause harm to another individual."

"The harm caused by such actions is not something that can simply be erased and often results in a lifetime of harassment and humiliation. Other states are getting it right, and it's time for Florida to get on board."

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The relationship between Green and the doctor ended in April. The woman said he started harassing her and becoming increasingly angry, continually contacting her after they split up.

Starting on Aug. 20, prosecutors said, Green threatened to send sexually explicit photos of the woman to friends and her employer "in an attempt to besmirch (her) reputation." They said he posted several photos on various websites.

In early October, court records show, Green told the woman that he had erased images from his computer. "I'm not going to end your career," he said in one email to her.

But within days, investigators said, the woman learned that Green had created the fake Facebook account to lure her friends and colleagues into looking at her nude photos.

In an email to her, court records showed, Green said, "Consider your life now ruined." The woman told investigators that not all the explicit photos were taken with her consent.

Investigators said Green has a prior criminal record that includes a charge of dealing in stolen property and a DUI that was later reduced to reckless driving. Prosecutors also said his ex-wife has a protective order against him after he was accused of domestic violence. The charge was later dismissed.

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Contact William R. Levesque at (813) 226-3432. Follow @Times_Levesque.