‘Revenge porn’ law could help in nude photo case

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Lee County woman was powerless to stop a nude photo of her from going viral and costing her a job, but thanks to a law that’s been in place for less than 10 months, she might have a way to fight back against the man who posted it.

Florida’s sexual cyberharassment law, which took effect Oct. 1, may give Lauren Klose an opportunity to prosecute her ex-boyfriend, Charles Ames, whom she accuses of placing the photo on a public Facebook page she uses for her tattoo business.

Klose filed a report with Cape Coral police, but they told her they weren’t sure whether she had grounds to press charges, she said. But the new law is in place to protect victims of so-called “revenge porn.”

Klose said she was was out with friends at a restaurant when she glanced at her phone to see a message from another friend who alerted her to a nude photo of Klose that Ames had messaged to her. Shortly thereafter, Klose discovered the photo on her Facebook page.

“That could possibly destroy me, in a sense,” Klose said.

The social media site doesn’t allow nude photos, but before Facebook deletes a picture, all it takes is one user to download it and spread it via other means of online sharing. Klose, who currently uses Facebook to promote her tattooing and modeling careers, lost her job because of the photo, she said.

If she elects to pursue charges, Ames could be convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor and face up to a year in jail. It’s unclear what legal course she’ll take, but her feelings on the issue aren’t hard to discern.

“It’s because of the principle of it. You don’t do this to people,” Klose said. “Not to anybody.”

Neither Ames nor the Cape Coral police offered comment to WINK News when asked.