Not only do victims of Revenge Porn and Sextortion potentially have new courses of action to pursue criminal cases against those who wrongfully share and disseminate their intimate images without permission or authority through New York Administrative Code 10-180, but there are numerous remedies available to such a victim. Whether you want to keep your embarrassing exposure quiet, put a stop to threats of disclosing your intimate images, are prepared to either bring your case directly to the District Attorney in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx or Staten Island, or are ready to confront your harasser in a civil court of law with a lawsuit for, among other things, punitive damages and injunctive relief, the statute comprising of Unlawful Disclosure of an Intimate Image allows for these options. Because you must examine the many moving pieces to best determine which routes you pursue, a New York City criminal attorney familiar with Unlawful Disclosure of an Intimate Image and legal counsel versed in NYC Admin. Code 10-180 is your best place to take your first steps to protect your name, public image, career and future.
Unlawful Disclosure of an Intimate Image: Civil Cause for Action.The harm that can befall you from either a threat to expose an intimate image without your permission or the actual disseminating of such a recording, picture, video or other reproduction may be easily ascertained or require a “deep dive” into the circumstances of how you were violated and its impact on your life, career and public image. Whatever you and your Unlawful Disclosure attorney determine is the best approach or combination of means to put an end to your abuse, if you suffer a harm know that NYC AC 10-180(d) provides a civil cause of action against the person or persons who violate the law.
As a plaintiff in a lawsuit for Unlawful Disclosure of an Intimate Image, your victimizer, aka, the defendant, may be liable to you for punitive and compensatory damages, injunctive relief to cease their conduct, the costs and fees associated with your counsel, and any other relief that the judge hearing your case finds appropriate. While you may be deciding whether you should actively pursue the prosecution of your tormentor in a criminal court, keep in mind that New York Admin. Code 10-180 does not mandate a criminal prosecution must commence in order to bring a lawsuit in a civil action. Moreover, a finding of guilt for violating Unlawful Disclosure of an Intimate Image in a criminal court is unnecessary, although, it could be helpful to the accuser. While there may be considerations to discuss regarding whether to engage in two parallel proceedings with your attorney in criminal and civil venues or whether you want to handle your harassment outside the criminal court through a cease and desists type letter, exploring your options with your attorney is something you should commence at the earliest opportunity.
Whatever you determine your best recourse is – criminal, civil, cease and desists outside the involvement of law enforcement – all options remain open to you. At bottom, your first goal will likely be to protect yourself from actual, continued or future dissemination of an intimate image you had no intention of sharing or being made public. Whether it is also your objective to sue your harasser to provide you with financial relief, the means to make yourself hole, or to compensate you for your damages, you have this right to do so in addition to, or apart from, any criminal case.
When your tormentor threatens to spread sexual and intimate images of you on the internet and before he or she actually provides any such recordings or reproductions to your colleagues at work, take the affirmative steps to stop this abuse and do so from the strongest position possible. Don’t fall victim or prey to someone else’s nefarious intent to cause you emotional, economic or physical harm. Instead, when facing the humiliation and fear of potential or actual disclosure of your intimate images, contact the criminal lawyers and former Manhattan prosecutors at Saland Law to ensure their knowledge, experience and advocacy work’s for you.
Call the New York criminal lawyers and former Manhattan Assistant District Attorneys at (212) 312-7129 or contact us online today