A 27-year-old porn website operator from San Diego is facing possible jail time and fines after authorities identified him as the owner and operator of a ‘revenge porn’ website.
Revenge porn is a disturbing new online trend in which hackers and disgruntled exes post naked images and personal details of ordinary people.
Kevin Christopher Bollaert was arrested in San Diego by California Department of Justice officials and has been charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.
It is alleged that Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com in 2012. Unlike other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link.
California’s Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said the website hosted more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos and alleged Bollaert extorted victims for as much as $350 each to remove the illicit content.
“This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives,” she said. “Online predators that profit from the extortion of private photos will be investigated and prosecuted for this reprehensible and illegal internet activity.”
Court documents also allege that Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site.
Bollaert would allegedly extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $299.99 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails.
Bollaert allegedly told investigators, according to court documents, that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totalling tens of thousands of dollars.
This article originally appeared on News.com.au