A Michigan man, Bradley Roy Clark is being accused of impersonating his ex-girlfriend online and selling her intimate photos and videos.
Bradley sits right at the top of the bitter ex pile. The man allegedly created Instagram and Patreon accounts where he impersonated his girlfriend. According to the woman’s lawyer, the Patreon account had more than 600 subscribers, and they could pay monthly fees of $4, $6, or $9 to see photos of his ex-girlfriend.
“Only $9 gives you access to everything. Dozens of pics and screenshots plus all my exclusive private videos,” read the cat fishing Patreon account, according to the press release.
Bradley has been ordered to give up the money he made estimated to be about $25,000. He has also been ordered to destroy all photos and footage of the woman that show her “in a partial or full state of nudity and/or engaged in sexual activity.” He is also currently facing criminal charges including, six counts of intentional dissemination of sexually explicit visual material and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime.
Over the last couple of years, the practice of posting someone’s intimate photos on the internet has been so popular it is being called “revenge po_rn”. It can be done by anyone. It could be a friend that shares with another friend. It’s most common with disgruntled ex-boyfriends /girlfriends.
Here in Zimbabwe we have seen leaked videos of celebrities like Pokello and Stunner, Njuzu, Studio 263 actor Denzel Burutsa, and Tinotenda Katsande who is an advocate against unauthorized sharing of intimate videos and pictures. There are also videos leaked by disgruntled spouses like the one that was trending in recent weeks of the lady caught having sex in her matrimonial home.
We have a cyber-law in Zimbabwe where a person who leaks a nude video of someone else risks spending up to 5 years in jail if convicted. Although these law are in place, in most cases by the time the video/pic circulates it’s hard to prove that the person you sent it to is the one who intentionally leaked it.
Once a picture or video leaves your phone/device it is no longer yours. You cannot control how it’s shared. Even if by some miracle you manage to get an order to have it taken down, the internet has far reaching corners and you may never be able to completely erase it.
The best action to avoid the possibility of such things happening is not sending any intimate photos or videos to anyone. If you do then at least brace yourself for the possibility of everyone viewing it some day.