SAN DIEGO — Kevin Bollaert, the alleged owner and operator of now-defunct ‘revenge porn’ site UGotPosted.com, pled "not guilty" to 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.
Bollaert, 27, — who is out of custody on $50,000 bail — was arraigned today before the San Diego Supreme Court.
The defendant was scheduled to appear in court Dec. 17, but the date was postponed as per an agreement by the lawyers on both sides of the case.
His arraignment came only hours after he was sentenced in federal court across the street in an unrelated firearms case.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw sentenced Bollaert to 15 days in jail and three years supervised probation, and added that he hoped Bollaert could return to his family in Illinois “to get focused and grounded."
UGotPosted.com facilitated the posting of more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos and extorted victims for as much as $350 each to remove the illicit content.
Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, UGotPosted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link.
Under California law, it is illegal to willfully obtain someone's personal identifying information — including name, age and address — for any unlawful purpose, including with the intent to "annoy'' or harass.
Court documents allege that Bollaert created a second website, ChangeMyReputation.com, in October 2012, which he would allegedly use to extort victims by offering to remove the offending content for a fee ranging from $300 to $350.
Bollaert’s past crimes that include drug possession, resisting arrest and public intoxication.
XBIZ will post updates to the case as it unfolds.