This landed on the right person. This feels like justice.
Itās easy to claim Internet culture is this state of nature where no one can anticipate or control people. But peel back the anon a little, and time and again, there are people making deliberate choices that set norms for the communities they create. Online forums are technical artifacts, created with intention by people. In the cases where these forums are shaped with intention to victimize people, the creators should be accountable for their creations.
You scoffers think the criminal justice system is unfair?
What a disappointment he must be to his Vulcan brethren.
Admittedly, this is the first Iāve heard about this, and I have faith in the court finding him guilty of what ever crimes he is accused of committing, but 18 years in prison seems like utter madness to me. We donāt even put most killers in jail for that long in my country.
What is the idea or purpose behind such long prison sentences?
18 years for a non-violent crime. Geez. And people wonder why we have more prisoners than any other country.
Yeah, itās a screwy sentence, but for a non-violent crime like that he may have opportunity to get out early, with good behavior and so on.
But I really donāt have any sympathy at all for him as an individual; itās just the comparison to some other crimes which is a little problematic for me. But then the whole so-called justice system is obviously completely wrong-headed, grotesquely so. Iād rather that this guy get 18 years (at least he has done substantial harm to a lot of people) than some poor bastard who got picked up with 2 ounces of marijuana after a couple of similarly trivial minor offenses.
I think the fact that he was also extorting his victims probably has something to do with the severity of the sentence.
Perhaps you should do some research about what his actions (ie posting nude or explicit photos submitted to him by ex-boyfriends, etc with no consent from the photo subjects) did to the many victims ( estimates are HUNDREDS of women) who were affected. Not only was their privacy and intimacy violated - then asshat dude charged a extortionate fee (ie $ 350.00 PER PHOTO) to remove them from his site.
Victims said that his site - which profited from stolen images of them - had a profoundly traumatic effect on their life, including relationship break-ups, loss of employment, and suicide attempts. These pics were forwarded to their friends, family, employers, etc. They were also downloaded and reposted many times over on other porn sites. Many victims contacted him to demand that he remove these images which he ignored.
Hundreds of women ! Not even one year per woman who was affected.
How is it not possible to view his actions as sexual and social violence ?
This doesnāt seem moral to me, but given our problematically-retributive ājusticeā system, this is about what Iād expect. I donāt know what Iād consider more appropriateā¦ maybe half that sentence? Considering he could be out early (with his current sentence, he could be out in a decade at the earliest).
I find it hard to be compassionate towards an extorting identity thief who abused women and enabled their abuse by others. I dunno, maybe it is appropriate. I dunno. I donāt know enough about the rehabilitation prospects of people like him or how much of a deterrent effect his sentencing might have (I suspect little, tbh).
For those who think the sentence is too harsh:
While Iām generally not a big fan of harsh sentencing, as non-violent crimes go, this one seems to have a lot of potential for ruining lives.
In many cases the amount of damage heās done to the victims is likely comparable to assault in terms of lasting impact on their lives, ignoring the increased risk of violence/stalking/etc that he exposed them to.
Besides this, it seems this was done in an extremely calculating manner, destroying their lives for personal profit. Weāve seen others whoāve created ābusinessesā of this sort, and itās something that as might be attractive for an enterprising young gentleman with a complete lack of empathy or social well-adjustment. As such, itās up to society to make an example of what happens to those who try to make a living ruining other peopleās lives: Their own lives are ruined. (Unless they channel that impulse into politics or the police force.)
In short, heās being made an example of, and Iām quite OK with that, because itās likely to succeed in actually deterring others.
Something doesnāt become violent just because it is severe. Violent crimes involves physical harm to your person. If he threatened to kill or maim his victims, then he would be a violent criminal.
I have no idea what the right number that this person should go to prison for, but 18 years seems like overkill.
Its a hard thing to contemplateāon the one hand the sentencing ratios seem bonkers but on the other it is clear the most popular revenge porn/doc sites were heavily influenced by the seeming invulnerability of previous sites (is anyone up/is anyone down).
Perhaps this sentence was handed more as a deterant to future exploiters.
It is a lot of years-- like, the kind of sentence I think you donāt come back from-- but I can see the thinking behind it. He did something that was unquestionably, deeply wrong and illegal, by choice, for money, in the open, for years. What possible grounds could a judge have to go easy on him? (Other than the argument that prison is intrinsically wrong, and itās safe to assume no working judge agrees with that).
But it makes me think, if heād been arrested and charged the first time he did it, then a short sentence wouldāve been appropriate, and a lot of people would be better off; how did the crime reach these epic proportions in the first place?
In my opinion (not a lawyer) the veneer of legality Hunter Moore projected contributed to the mentality that he could get away with it. But that is simply a guess, I have no actual evidence (other than being an internet denizen who lurks in questionable places).
Research has shown that long prison sentences donāt act as a deterrent. The most obvious proof is when you look at the crime rates of people about to turn 18 and those who have just turned 18 when sentences jump significantly. There is almost no difference in arrest rates between the two groups where youād expect to see a massive drop off.
No one wants to go to prison at all. If someone donāt think theyāll get caught, they are desperate or stupid, theyāll commit the crime regardless of the prison sentence.
Agreeing that thereās no need to redefine the word violence. There are already plenty of other words to describe the terrible harm caused by this guyās site.
You are right, I phrased that badly. Perhaps, āthe judge and prosecuters believe or profess to believe it will act as a deterrentā.
Deterrence exists only in the minds of those with foresight and a sense of personal fallibility. Those whose foresight is blinded by a sense of impunity are about as much deterred as those who believe themselves fallible but only think one step ahead in considering the consequences of their actions. Judging by the timeline of his actions, Mr. Bollaert would seem to fall into one of the two latter categories.
His actions did not touch any of his victims PHYSICALLY - but similar to yelling āFire !ā as a prank in a crowded place, standing up in an airplane mid flight shouting about how you have a bomb - or following a stranger on the street whispering rape threats, then standing outside their home periodically, at random times of day/night obviously staring at it - these are all violating, threatening, assaultive acts with no physical contact. These acts terrorize the victims.
Given that the dude has hundreds of victims - what do you think is the right sentence ?
Can you imagine how you would feel if this happened to you ?
Can you begin to imagine how many lives have been affected by this dudeās actions ? Try to imagine what the room you are sitting in right now would look with hundreds of women in it. How full would the room be ? Packed ?Overflowing and down the hall and out the front door and down the block ? How many of their accounts of how this
traumatized them - and made the women feel unsafe, paranoid, violated, HURT - and not just for a moment of hurt but trauma that affects every aspect of their life and lasts for a lifetime - would it take until you understand that this is abuse, violence ?
Dude posted over 10,000 images, mostly of women, and also posted full names and home address FFS !
