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Rob Kardashian vs. Blac Chyna: Revenge Porn or Not? Calif. Attorney Says ‘Not’

Greg Doherty/Getty Images

You may want to think twice before you share nude photos of yourself with a man or woman you’re dating, especially if you’re in a state that, unlike California, doesn’t have a revenge-porn law.

On Wednesday, Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna’s drama unfolded via Instagram and Twitter. Although Kardashian posted nude photos allegedly of Chyna, Paul Wallin, a prominent California attorney who’s handled 50 revenge-porn cases, says that doesn’t necessarily make it revenge porn.

In 2013, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 255, the state’s revenge-porn law, which defines revenge porn as “photographs or records by any means the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, under circumstances where the parties agree or understand that the image shall remain private, and the person subsequently distributes the image taken, with the intent to cause serious emotional distress, and the depicted person suffers serious emotional distress.”

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Since then, numerous cases have popped up pertaining to what is revenge porn and what isn’t. The law, which is cumbersome and broad, has many facets to it. But the main points are pretty cut-and-dried: whether there is emotional distress and whether the images were intended to remain private.

“It cannot be revenge porn unless the DA can prove she [Chyna] suffered emotional distress,” Wallin told The Root in an interview.

Wallin pointed out that because there are already numerous nude photos of Chyna on the internet, and because she “liked” the Instagram posts, it will be hard for a district attorney to get a conviction against Kardashian.

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Wallin went on to explain that it’s easier for the average Jane or Joe to get a revenge-porn conviction because the average person doesn’t have a history of their nude photos being posted on the internet. And that’s what exactly happened with in 2014 in California’s Kamala Harris prosecuting the state’s first revenge porn case. Noe Iniguez was sentenced to a year in prison after posting nude photos of his ex-girlfriend to her employer’s Facebook page. At the time of the case, Mary Anne Franks, an associate professor of Law at the University of Miami, admitted that the law needed a lot of work.

“The law is still not perfect; for instance, it requires that the victim demonstrate that she suffered serious emotional distress, which is unnecessary, burdensome and potentially requires the victim to expose even more of her private life to the public eye,” she said.

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Wallin took to his own social media page to explain the aspects of revenge porn during a Facebook Live, which, ironically, was already scheduled before Kardashian went buck wild on his own social media accounts.

What remains to be seen is whether Chyna will press charges against Kardashian; but if she does, Wallin says, the case will be hard to prosecute.

“We don’t know if she’s going to want to prosecute. If she tells the DA she doesn’t want to prosecute, even if they did want to charge him with a crime, they have no case,” Wallin said.

But could this all be for publicity?

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We all know the history of the Kardashian family. Is Kris Jenner sitting back and concocting a ratings scheme? Is Chyna really emotionally distressed over the situation? Did she ever tell Kardashian not to distribute the photos she gave him? All of these elements will come into play if charges are filed.

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Wallin, who didn’t bite his tongue about how he feels about the Kardashians, said, “Even though he’s a jerk and [it’s] disgusting, these people live in a different universe.”

If Kardashian is charged and convicted, a revenge-porn conviction carries a maximum of one year in the county jail, but according to Wallin, most first-timers get off with probation or have the charges dismissed.

Wallin has simple words of advice for those people who are into taking nude photos.

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“Take as many pictures as you want. But understand the consequences when that relationship is over,” he said. “There are many things in society that are disgusting but are not crimes.”

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So keep your nudes to yourself, or use a secure app like Signal that allows your photos to disappear after a certain amount of time. That loved one, after a breakup, might turn out to be as bitter as Rob.

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