When your ex first shared sexy images or video with you, you are probably very excited about it. Whether they set them in an email or via social media, you might have saved those images or videos to enjoy them later. In the context of your relationship, you were probably acutely aware that the other person wanted those images to remain private.
Now that your relationship has soured or ended, your emotional reaction to those images might be quite negative. You might also view them as a potential tool to get revenge. However, under Connecticut law, if you share private images or videos with other people directly or on the internet, you could wind up charged with a sex crime.
You do not have the right to share private images of others
The person who takes a photo and the person depicted in the photo often have rights regarding the use of that image. When it comes to intimate pictures, the subject of the image or video has the ultimate say about who can see or consume that media, provided that they took the image with the expectation of privacy.
If your ex shared images with you for your eyes only, sharing them online is a violation of their trust and of state law. You can wind up charged under the revenge porn laws that make it a Class A misdemeanor to nonconsensually share intimate images of another.
Those who plead guilty or get convicted of this Class A misdemeanor can wind up facing up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. However, it’s worth noting that both legislative bodies in the state have considered increasing the offense to a felony charge. The potential exists for this kind of action to carry much more serious consequences in the future, which is just more reason to delete those images instead of sharing them.