COLUMBUS, Ind. – After pleading guilty to several charges Wednesday about a revenge porn case, an 18-year-old Michigan man received a five-year prison sentence, with the first year to be served in the Bartholomew County Jail and the remainder suspended for five years of probation.
Jesse J. Price, 18, Dearborn Heights, Michigan, pleaded guilty to five counts of Distribution of an Intimate Image (Class A misdemeanors), while a charge of Child Exploitation (Level 5 felony) was dismissed.
The Columbus Police Department received a complaint in March 2024 from a 17-year-old Columbus female who said her ex-boyfriend posted intimate images of her on a pornographic website, including her name and home address. She learned about the posting when a stranger contacted her wanting more images. She recognized the images as ones she had previously shared with her former boyfriend.
The case was referred to the Bartholomew County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and was investigated in cooperation with Michigan’s ICAC Task Force. Local investigators were granted a search warrant for the pornography site involved. Although the images had been removed shortly after being posted, investigators were able to confirm Price had uploaded the images.
Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay said this case was particularly disturbing because a stranger contacted the victim due to the crime. “ICAC investigators work with victims of crimes like this to get images removed from the Internet and hold offenders accountable,” she said.
Holden-Kay said internet crimes against children can be reported to a local law enforcement agency or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or CyberTipline.org.
