State Makes Sharing Explicit Images a Crime

Gov. Jim Justice has signed new laws to criminalize “revenge porn” and to establish a mechanism for reducing criminal records for non-violent felonies down to misdemeanors.

The new crime laws are among dozens of measures the governor has signed so far this week following the Legislature’s 60-day regular session.

Other new laws will eliminate wage bond requirements, increase fines for littering, raise prison penalties for trafficking in fentanyl and set a $150 limit on fees charged by health care providers for patient records.

In West Virginia, it will be a misdemeanor to intentionally display publicly, distribute or threaten to disclose sexually explicit or intimate images of someone else without their consent.

A first offense is subject to a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and up to a year in jail.