‘RIGHT TO PRIVACY’

Illinois Woman Found Guilty of ‘Revenge Porn’ After Sharing Pics to Prove Fiancé Was Cheating

The court said that when Bethany Austin shared intimate pictures another woman had sent her fiancé, she violated that person’s right to privacy.

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a woman who showed sexually explicit pictures of another woman to others in order to prove that her fiancé was cheating on her is guilty of violating a state law against “revenge porn.” Bethany Austin, 43, was found guilty of the class 4 felony, and could be sentenced to as many as three years in prison. Austin had been engaged in 2016, and had accidentally received explicit pictures intended for her fiancé when another women sent them to his phone, as the couple shared an Apple iCloud account. Presented with evidence of her fiancé’s cheating, Austin called off their wedding. But when her ex-fiancé called her “crazy” for ending the engagement, Austin allegedly shared the pictures with others to prove that she wasn’t. A judge didn’t find her reasoning convincing. “It is wrong because exposing another person’s body against her will fundamentally denies that person of their right to privacy,” the judge said.