Arizona’s first attempt at a “Revenge Porn” law was overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court. It took a while, but our wonderful legislature went back to the drawing board and crafted a new version.
The New Law
Arizona Revised Statute §13-1425 makes it a crime to intentionally disclose an identifiable image of another person that:
In reading the statute, please note the image can be a photograph or video. The image is identifiable if you can recognize the person, OR information connected with the image makes the person identifiable.
By definition, harm includes physical injury, financial injury, or serious emotional distress.
Unless you have somehow received obvious consent to release an image depicting one’s nudity or sexual activity, you will commit a crime if you in anyway post the image. Each posting can be a separate crime.
If the image is disclosed by electronic means, it is a class 4 felony. As a class 4 felony, you could receive up to 3.75 years in prison.
If disclosed in any other way, it is a class 5 felony. If a class 5 felony, you could receive up to 2.5 years in prison.
If convicted of a felony, then supervised probation may be extended for your natural life. The crime is actually contained within the “sex crimes” chapter of Arizona’s Criminal Code. As such, special sentencing provisions may apply. Specifically, the judge could require you to register as a sex offender.
On top of the sex crimes label, you may also be facing the label of domestic violence (A.R.S. 13-3601). This label would apply if the image depicts a spouse, former spouse, roommate, or partner among others.
Even the threat to disclose is a misdemeanor. As a misdemeanor, you could receive up to 6 months of jail. And the same sentencing provisions for sexual registration, lifetime probation, and domestic violence may also apply.
If convicted of any criminal act, you would also be responsible for restitution for any harm or financial costs or any other damage as a result of your criminal act. One really big area of concern could also be the ongoing and difficult job of “unlisting” or removing any and all images/videos and any subsequent links. It may not be possible, but it will be required by the court.
One of the most troubling aspects of this new crime is that even if the image was given to you, you can commit a criminal act if you republish or post it anywhere else.
If you receive anything….text, emails, naked selfies, anything shared with you. Do not share the image. Do not threaten to share the image. The law clearly states that just because you received it does not mean you have permission to repost it.
And certainly, if you created or participated in the creation of any nude or sexually explicit activities, you can’t share those images. Honestly, unless you were to receive written consent to share and post the images, please don’t even think about it.
This is a new area of law. Unlike the legislature’s first attempt, this version has been upheld as constitutional. The fact that this version can include registration as a sex offender, a domestic violence label, and supervised probation for the rest of your life, you really don’t want to take any chances in seeking revenge. It simply will not be worth it.
If you are being accused of posting an image, law enforcement will need to track the information back to you. Hiring an experienced attorney that can hopefully impose roadblocks to their investigation or challenging any search will be of the utmost importance.
If you have been accused of any misdemeanor or felony, please contact me, Howard Snader. I am a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist. If you or anyone you know has been accused of any crime, please call me at 602.899-1596, email him at Howard@SnaderLawGroup.com or visit https://snaderlawgroup.com for your free case review.
