Man Arrested For Posting "Revenge Porn" Of Ex Who Was A Minor
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) -- "Revenge porn," is the term being used to describe the crimes allegedly committed by 37-year-old Antonio Giansante.
Giansante was arrested at his Miami Beach apartment Thursday, accused of a variety of child pornography charges after posting graphic images of his ex-girlfriend on the web.
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Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle called it a, "new form of domestic violence, a new weapon" being wielded by ex-boyfriends and husbands.
Giansante, according to court documents, had more than decade long relationship with a woman starting when she was just 15-years old. Police said he surreptitiously recorded them engaging in sex acts and posted the images online last year after the two broke up.
Rundle said Giansante posted the photos and video still frames on blind Facebook sites "with the intention, the very specific, deliberate intention, of shaming, embarrassing and humiliating" the victim.
Identified in court documents only by her initials, the woman, a Miami-Dade County employee, learned that Giansante was distributing graphic photos of her as a child only after he allegedly attempted to post the images on the county's official website forty times.
He also is accused of sending the graphic photos to the victim's co-workers and friends.
She called police who tracked the suspect to his Miami Beach apartment using IP addresses.
In a raid on the apartment Thursday, investigators seized a computer, cameras, and other items.
The case exposes a huge loophole in the law. It is not illegal to photograph an adult in the nude and post the image online, with or without the adult's permission.
Advocates for women said, given the increase in "porn revenge," the law has to change.
"The message to Tallahassee is very simple," said Miami Beach City Commissioner Michael Grieco. "Shame on you."
Charges were able to be brought against Giansante only because his alleged victim was a minor when many of the images were recorded.
The victim received much praise at Thursday's news conference.
"This is a very brave woman who came forward," said Miami Beach Police Chief Dan Oates.
She will have to endure her ex's prosecution and quite possibly be required to testify.
Giansante is being held without bail at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He will appear before a Miami-Dade County judge on Friday.
Giansante works as an internet technology consultant.
