NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A New York man who sent nude photos of his ex-girlfriend to her boss and sister engaged in "reprehensible" conduct that was not illegal, a judge says.
Charges against Ian Barber, 29, were dismissed Tuesday, the New York Daily News reported.
Criminal Court Judge Steven Statsinger, who released his opinion Wednesday, said the case appears to be New York's first involving so-called revenge porn.
"The Court concludes that defendant's conduct, while reprehensible, does not violate any of the criminal statutes under which he is charged," Statsinger said.
Barber was charged last year with aggravated harassment, dissemination of unlawful surveillance and public display of offensive sexual material after his former girlfriend told police she had not given him permission to distribute the photos online.
Statsinger said sending the photos to others is not harassment, and Barber that obtained them legally while he and his ex-were still together, so he did not engage in illicit surveillance, and simple nakedness is not offensive.
California and New Jersey have enacted laws aimed at criminalizing "revenge porn," using sexual pictures as retaliation, generally against an ex-partner or spouse.
