SAN DIEGO — Eric Chanson and Kevin Bollaert, two of the most infamous website operators in the field of “revenge porn,” must each pay $450,000 in damages to a woman whose nude photos of her taken when she was a minor were published on UGotPosted.com.
Chanson and Bollaert were found liable by a U.S. judge under federal child pornography statutes and California’s right of publicity statute in a case brought on by Abbey Talley, who decided to bring the case under her name instead proceeding as an anonymous Jane Doe.
Last week, the court clerk entered a default judgment in the case.
Marc Randazza of Randazza Legal Group, which represented Talley, called the judgement “a resounding victory for Abbey.”
“Even though she may have some difficulty collecting the judgment from Chanson and Bollaert, who are not exactly flush with cash, she has been vindicated by the legal system and can finally put this episode behind her,” he told XBIZ.
Earlier this month, Bollaert was convicted of 27 counts of criminal identity theft and extortion for running the site and could face 20 years in prison.
The California civil judgment follows another victory by Randazza last year against Chanson and Bollaert in an Ohio federal case brought by another victim, a Jane Doe. The court there entered a judgment against the two jointly for $385,000 on claims very similar to those in the Talley case.
“Hopefully these judgments will send a message to the operators of ‘revenge porn’ sites that they can’t get away with this sort of conduct,” Randazza said. “And even if these people end up being insolvent when a court orders them to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, nobody wants to have collection actions brought against them constantly until they’re old men.”