California Attorney General Kamala Harris chose Valentine’s Day to announce the arrest of Casey E. Meyering, the alleged owner of a notorious revenge porn website that posts explicit pictures of women without their permission and charges to have them removed.

Meyering was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by agents with the California Department of Justice’s eCrime Unit, the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety and the Tulsa Police Department, and was charged with five felony counts of extortion.

“This behavior is the very definition of predatory and this website made a game out of humiliating victims for profit,” Attorney General Harris said. California is trying to extradite him.

The website, WinByState.com, solicited photographs from scorned males and posted them, sometimes identifying the victim by name. Posters obtained the photos consensually, in better times, or by stealing them. Photos on the website were organized by locale, and California had more than 400 images.

Court documents allege that victims were charged up to $250 to have their photographs removed from the site and paid via GoogleWallet. A similar website, ugotposted.com, was shut down last December and its owner was arrested. Kevin Christopher Bollaert of San Diego was charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and is awaiting trial. Bollaert allegedly posted sexually explicit photos of more than 10,000 women. He pleaded not guilty last month.

A third man, Hunter Moore, pleaded not guilty last week to 15 federal counts for the operation of IsAnyoneUp.com, a revenge porn site that authorities claim was populated with photos hacked from computers of unsuspecting victims. Charges against Moore, who was arrested in Woodland, included conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. He allegedly hired Charles Evans to hack into hundreds of computer accounts and steal pictures. Evans was also arrested.

Moore was released on $100,000 bond.

California passed Senate Bill 255 last October, becoming the second state to ban online posts or other distributions of “intimate” photos or videos, without a person’s consent. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposed the legislation and its objections are cited in an analysis of the bill by state Senate staffers:

“The posting of otherwise lawful speech or images even if offensive or emotionally distressing is constitutionally protected. The speech must constitute a true threat or violate another otherwise lawful criminal law, such as stalking or harassment statute, in order to be made illegal. The provisions of this bill do not meet that standard.”

–Ken Broder

To Learn More: 

Oklahoma Man Arrested for Posting Nude Pics of Californians (by Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle)

Oklahoma Man Held on Calif. Revenge-Porn Charges (by Don Thompson, Associated Press)

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Arrest of Revenge Porn Operator in Oklahoma (Press release)

Bill Would Outlaw Mug Shot Publishing Websites in California (by Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times)

23 Women Sue GoDaddy over “Revenge Porn” Site (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

How to Make Revenge Porn a Crime (by Danielle Citron, Slate)