Following an all-day sentencing hearing April 3, a judge handed down a term of 18 years to a Pacific Beach man who ran a “revenge porn” website featuring nude photos of mostly women whose ex-boyfriends or others submitted the photos without their consent.
\nKevin Christopher Bollaert, 28, was ordered to pay $15,488 to six females and one male victim of his website, shut down in 2013 by the California Attorney General\u2019s office, which said there were 10,031 unauthorized photographs on the site.
\nBollaert was convicted Feb. 2 of six extortion counts in which he was charged with demanding payment between $250 and $350 to have the photos taken down. The jury also convicted him of 21 counts of identity theft in which the victim\u2019s full names, hometowns, ages and sometimes work addresses and school history were posted.
\nDeputy Attorney General Tawnya Austin said Bollaert made $30,000 in the scheme.
\nSan Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill turned down the defense request for probation, saying that was “completely off the table” because of the damages that occurred to the victims\u2019 lives. “He deserves to be punished very severely,” said Gill. “This case cries out for consecutive sentences\u2026 and to send a message. We have to honor the human dignity and incredible devastation (by victims).”
\nGill’s sentence surpassed the 10-year minimum Austin had sought, adding that the 18-year term was the maximum.
\nBollaert will be serving the 18-year term in the San Diego county jail instead of state prison; this is allowed for certain nonviolent offenders under California\u2019s public safety realignment law. Gill noted that Bollaert will likely be released after he serves nine actual years in local jails.
\nBollaert, who will become the sheriff\u2019s department\u2019s longest-held prisoner until 2024, received credits for 62 days spent in jail. He had been free on $50,000 bond until the verdict, when Gill remanded him to jail. He was fined $12,044.
\nAttorney General Kamala Harris said Bollaert\u2019s sentencing marked the nation’s first criminal conviction of “a cyber-exploitation website operator.” Harris described Bollaert\u2019s crimes as “sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act.”
\nAttending the sentencing were many victims, some of whom told the judge about the trauma that occurred after they discovered the photos. Some of the images were e-mailed to their parents or co-workers. One woman said her parents kicked her out of the home and that she lost her car and her job.
\nSome women said others blamed them for having nude photos taken even if they were meant only for a boyfriend or husband. Most of the ex-boyfriends denied sending the photos to Bollaert, but some of their online accounts were apparently hacked.
\nOne 24-year-old soldier told Gill his wife\u2019s nude photos were hacked and that hundreds of vulgar messages were sent to him and his wife. He described Bollaert as a “monster.” He said other soldiers in his unit knew of his wife\u2019s photos.
\nOthers said they received hundreds of vulgar e-mails from strangers. Almost all of them said it occurred after Bollaert and others accessed their Facebook accounts in which personal information became part of his website called YouGotPosted.
\n“Cyberspace is a very, very scary place,” said Gill. — Neal Putnam<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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