The owner of "war porn" site NowThatsFuckedUp.com (not worksafe) has been charged with 300 misdemeanors and one felony. He's in jail on more than $150K bail.
He made an offer on the Web site that if they posted pictures proving they were military serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, he would give them free access to the paid sections of the Web site.
For about six or seven months, people claiming to be members of the military have been sending in pictures of life overseas, ranging from picturesque scenery to hideous pictures of people burned black and unrecognizable, or with body parts mangled or blown apart.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the area that includes pornographic pictures was equally distasteful. "Normal people don't have the ability to imagine how perverse and horrific these images were," he said. "It certainly is content that shocks the community."
According to [state prosecutor Brad] Copley, many of the pictures of women clearly were taken without their knowledge or consent. "There's revenge photos all over the Web site. Boyfriends posting pictures of ex-girlfriends, pictures taken from hidden cameras," he said.
(…) The misdemeanors carry a potential penalty of up to one year in jail each, and the felony carries a potential penalty of up to five years in state prison. [Defense attorney Lawrence] Walters criticized the number of misdemeanors filed, saying the Web site itself should have constituted one count only. "It smacks of charge stacking," he said.
Link to local Florida newspaper The Ledger's account; here's the Orlando Sentinel's take. (Thanks, Scott Alexander, Brian Carpenter, and Shannon Larratt)
Reader comment: Cyrus Farivar says, "This is probably what did him in." Link
Kelly says, "Orlando Weekly, a local "indie" type paper like most cities have, did a full expose on the site and its owner." Link
