By admin 
GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — A Gilbert man is in custody and facing felony charges after police say he uploaded “revenge porn” videos of his ex-girlfriend to Reddit in exchange for money.
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Investigators say the man admitted posting the material to raise cash for legal fees tied to a separate domestic violence case involving the same victim.
The case is drawing renewed attention to Arizona’s revenge porn laws and the penalties for breaking them.
Police say 25-year-old Jake Murphy was already in custody on domestic violence charges when his ex-girlfriend made a discovery that led to new allegations.
Investigators say she found Murphy’s old iPhone and discovered nude photos and videos of her posted on Reddit without her consent. Police say the posts showed her face and identifying tattoos.
In one post, according to the report, a nude photo was captioned: “Just found out she was a cheating [expletive] so enjoy everyone.”
Police say Murphy had been posting the images and videos since 2022 under multiple accounts.
Murphy now faces 12 felony counts, according to police.
Attorney Ben Taylor said in many cases, law enforcement and attorneys can identify who posted the material and work to have it removed, but he said that can be difficult once it spreads online.
“If it’s on there, it could be sent to multiple locations throughout our nation, throughout the globe,” Taylor said. “So it’s very hard to take stuff down if it’s already out there on the internet.”
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Arizona law makes revenge porn illegal, with penalties of up to four years in prison.
A bill that passed the legislature this year with bipartisan support — House Bill 2133 — would have increased those penalties. Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the measure in June.
In a statement, the governor’s office said the bill included language unrelated to revenge porn: a provision that would have required anyone creating satire or parody of an elected official to get permission from that official first. Hobbs said that would violate First Amendment protections for free speech.
The bill’s sponsor accused Hobbs of choosing party politics over children and victims.
Taylor said there are websites that help victims scrub intimate images from the internet, but the process can be expensive. He said victims should document what they find and report it to police.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, get help by calling the 24-hour National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 or texting BEGIN to 88788.
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