Revenge Porn Website Operator Convicted

It is the first time the operator of a revenge porn website - where people post naked images of their ex-lovers - is convicted.

A man charged with running a revenge porn website where people posted nude pictures of their ex-lovers has been convicted in San Diego.

Kevin Bollaert, 28, was found guilty on Monday of identity theft and extortion. The website charged the victims, often women, up to $350 (roughly £230) each to remove their photos.

Bollaert faces up to 20 years in prison.

It was believed to be the first conviction of a revenge porn website operator.

However, two months ago a man who posted a topless photo of his ex-girlfriend on Facebook was sentenced to a year in jail for violating California's new revenge porn law.

The legislation defines revenge porn as the posting of private, explicit photos of other people on the Internet to humiliate them.

That law was not used against Bollaert because it is geared to those who post the incriminating pictures and not those who run websites that feature them, officials said.

Bollaert's site, which is no longer operational, had featured more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos without the knowledge of those in the pictures.

The victims' names, cities where they lived and other information such as links to their Facebook profiles also were posted, authorities alleged.

Prosecutors said he earned tens of thousands of dollars from the scheme.

More than two dozen people were named as victims in the criminal complaint.

Some testified at trial that they suffered humiliation and fear when their private photos were posted.

Prosecutor Tawnya Austin told jurors that some were also harassed by people who tried to contact them through Facebook or by email.

"It ruined my life and I'm still going through it," testified one woman, who said she was thrown out of her home after her nude photos were posted.

"I lost my family. They think that I brought shame on them. My reputation is ruined."

Bollaert's lawyer, Emily Rose-Weber, argued in court that he may have conducted an immoral business  but that he did not break the law.

"It's gross, it's offensive, but it's not illegal," she said.