How to Fight a Revenge Porn Charge in Florida (2026)

If a former partner, a detective, or a lawyer’s letter says you shared someone’s intimate photos without permission, you are facing a charge built on a law Florida rewrote in 2025. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I defended sex crimes cases in the Public Defender’s Major Crimes Unit and am a former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys. Our attorneys defend sexual cyberharassment cases by testing every element the State must prove, starting with the digital evidence that ties the image to our client.

What is sexual cyberharassment under Florida law?

Sexual cyberharassment is the crime of intentionally posting a sexually explicit image of another person online, or sending it electronically to someone else, without the depicted person’s consent and contrary to that person’s reasonable expectation that the image would stay private. It is defined in section 784.049, Florida Statutes. The image must also identify the person, either through the image itself or through identifying information posted or sent at the same time.

Florida’s statute treats the offense as a computer-based crime, and our firm handles these cases as part of our work as a Tampa internet crimes attorney team. The table below lists what the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

What changed in Florida’s revenge porn law in 2025?

Florida made sexual cyberharassment easier to prosecute on October 1, 2025. CS/CS/HB 1451, signed May 22, 2025, as Chapter 2025-84, removed the requirement that the State prove the accused acted “for no legitimate purpose, with the intent of causing substantial emotional distress.” It also created a felony for revenge porn committed for money and gave prosecutors more time to file.

The date of the alleged posting matters. A criminal law cannot be applied to conduct that happened before it took effect, so an image shared before October 1, 2025, is judged under the older version of the statute, including the emotional-distress element. Our attorneys check the date of every post and message before we decide which defenses apply.

What are the penalties for revenge porn in Florida?

A first sexual cyberharassment conviction is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine under section 775.082 and section 775.083. The charge becomes a felony in two situations, shown below.

A plea with a withhold of adjudication still counts. Section 784.049(5) defines a “conviction” as any determination of guilt from a plea or trial, even if adjudication is withheld or the plea is no contest. That means a quick plea on a first case can turn the next accusation into a felony.

The law also allows a warrantless arrest on probable cause, search warrants for a home, and a separate civil lawsuit for $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus punitive damages and attorney fees. Prosecutors must file a misdemeanor case within 5 years, or within 3 years after the person discovers the offense, whichever is later, under section 775.15. Sexual cyberharassment is not one of the offenses that require sex offender registration under section 943.0435.

What other charges come with a revenge porn accusation?

Revenge porn cases often carry a second, more serious charge. The facts around the image decide which statute the State uses, and the related charges below are all felonies or federal crimes.

The age of the person in the image changes everything. A photo of a 17-year-old is treated as child sexual abuse material, even if the two people were dating. Our firm explains how those cases are scored in our post on child pornography enhancements in Tampa. When both people are minors, Florida’s sexting statute, section 847.0141, makes a first violation a noncriminal citation.

How common are revenge porn and sextortion complaints?

Online image abuse reports are rising fast. In 2025, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 75,000 sextortion submissions, according to the FBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report. The same report counted 21,557 harassment and stalking complaints in 2025, up from 11,672 in 2024. Florida residents filed 71,843 internet crime complaints with the FBI in 2025, the third most of any state.

Research shows how widespread the conduct is. In a 2020 peer-reviewed study of 3,044 U.S. adults, Ruvalcaba and Eaton, Psychology of Violence, found that 8 percent (about 1 in 12) reported being victims of nonconsensual pornography and 5 percent (about 1 in 20) admitted sharing someone’s image. Most perpetrators in that study shared images of a current or former romantic partner. Because these accusations usually arise between people who once trusted each other, the evidence often turns on old messages, shared accounts, and who had access to whose phone.

How do our attorneys fight a sexual cyberharassment charge?

Our attorneys fight these charges by forcing the State to prove each element with reliable digital evidence. Most revenge porn cases rest on screenshots and an accuser’s account of who sent what. The defenses below are the ones we test first.

1. Prove who actually sent it. A screenshot shows that an image appeared on a screen; it does not prove who posted it. Shared phones, shared cloud accounts, hacked social media, and fake profiles are common. We subpoena the account records the State relies on and examine IP addresses, login history, and device data. Our post on what to do after a Google account legal request in Florida explains how those records are obtained.
2. Show consent. If the person shown agreed to the posting or sharing, there is no crime. Messages, prior posts, and the way the image was first created can all show consent.
3. Challenge the identification element. The State must prove the image, or information sent with it, identified the person. A cropped body image sent with no name, number, or distinctive feature may not meet the statute.
4. Test whether the image is “sexually explicit.” The statute borrows the definition of nudity from section 847.001. Suggestive photos, swimwear, and covered images often fall outside it.
5. Contest “willful and malicious.” The standard jury instruction for this crime leaves the meaning of “maliciously” to the trial judge, as explained below. That gives our attorneys room to argue the accused lacked the required state of mind.
6. Check the date and the statute of limitations. Conduct before October 1, 2025, must be judged under the older law, which required intent to cause substantial emotional distress.
7. Move to suppress unlawful phone searches. Phone and account searches need a valid warrant with a proper scope. A motion to suppress can remove evidence taken outside the warrant.

Does “maliciously” require proof of ill will?

The standard jury instruction leaves that choice to the trial judge. In In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report 2019-11, 290 So. 3d 864 (Fla. 2020), the Florida Supreme Court approved amendments to the jury instruction for this crime, and the instruction’s comment states that the courts had not decided whether the statute requires actual malice or legal malice. It tells trial judges to choose one.

The two definitions come from Seese v. State, 955 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007), an aggravated stalking case in which a man repeatedly called a former girlfriend despite a court order. The Fourth District held that “maliciously” in the stalking statute means legal malice, which is acting “wrongfully, intentionally, without legal justification or excuse,” and distinguished actual malice, which means “ill will, hatred, spite, an evil intent.” Prosecutors will cite Seese to ask for the easier legal-malice definition. Our attorneys argue for actual malice, because a revenge porn statute that no longer requires intent to cause distress needs some meaningful intent requirement to separate a crime from a careless share.

Can you be charged in a different county than where you live?

Yes. Under section 910.15, a crime committed through the internet can be tried in any Florida county, because the law treats an internet communication as made in every county in the state.

The Sixth District applied that rule to sexual cyberharassment this year in Fuller v. State, No. 6D2025-0818 (Fla. 6th DCA July 17, 2026). A man emailed sexually explicit videos of a woman to her significant other, who received them in Orange County. The couple reported the crime in Osceola County, and an Osceola County jury convicted him. On appeal, he argued the case belonged in Orange County, where the email was received. The court affirmed, holding that because the email traveled over the internet, venue was proper in every county, including Osceola. The lesson is practical: a person living in Pasco or Pinellas County can be prosecuted in Hillsborough County if the accuser reports there, so our attorneys plan for the court and the prosecutor’s office where the case will actually be filed.

What happens after a revenge porn arrest in Hillsborough County?

An arrest leads to a first appearance before a judge within 24 hours, usually at the Orient Road Jail, where the judge sets bond and conditions of release. Officers may arrest without a warrant on probable cause for this crime. The judge will usually order no contact with the person shown in the image under section 903.047, and that order covers texts, social media, and messages sent through friends.

Hillsborough County does not have the pretrial services supervision program that some nearby counties use, so release conditions are set directly by the judge and enforced through the court. A misdemeanor case is heard in Hillsborough County Court, and a felony goes to the 13th Judicial Circuit. Our firm explains local procedure in more detail on our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

What should you do if you are under investigation for revenge porn?

Stop all contact with the accuser and call a lawyer before you speak with a detective. Many sexual cyberharassment cases start with a detective’s phone call asking for “your side,” and the statements made in that call often supply the intent and identification evidence the State is missing.

• Do not contact the accuser. Apologies, explanations, and requests to drop the case can lead to stalking or witness tampering charges.
• Do not delete posts, accounts, or phone data. Destroying evidence after you learn of an investigation can be charged as tampering, a third-degree felony under section 918.13.
• Do not hand over your phone or passcode without a lawyer. A consent search can reach far more than the image at issue.
• Write down who had access to your devices and accounts. That list often becomes the core of an identification defense.
• Remember the civil exposure. Anything you say to police can also be used in a civil lawsuit seeking $10,000 or more.

The weeks before charges are filed are when our attorneys can do the most. Through our representation before charges are filed, we can speak with the detective, present evidence of consent or misidentification, and work to keep a case from being filed at all.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Internet Crimes page. For related reading, see our guide to solicitation of a child using a computer in Florida.

Frequently asked questions about Florida revenge porn charges

Can revenge porn charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes. Prosecutors can drop a sexual cyberharassment charge, called a nolle prosequi, when the evidence of identification, consent, or malice is weak, or when the accuser no longer supports the case. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm present that evidence to the State Attorney’s Office early, often before the first court date, through our Tampa internet crimes defense practice.

Is it a crime to show a nude photo on my phone to a friend in person?

It may not be. Section 784.049 covers posting an image to a website or disseminating it “through electronic means to another person,” so handing someone your phone raises a real question about whether the image was disseminated electronically. The Brancato Law Firm examines exactly how an image moved from one person to another, because that detail can decide whether the statute applies at all.

Is sharing an AI-generated or deepfake nude illegal in Florida?

Yes. Creating, soliciting, or maliciously promoting a realistic altered sexual image of an identifiable person without consent is a third-degree felony under section 836.13, and each act is a separate offense. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm challenge whether the image is “realistic” and whether the person is actually identifiable, which are both required elements.

Do you have to register as a sex offender for sexual cyberharassment in Florida?

No. Sexual cyberharassment under section 784.049 is not on Florida’s list of registrable offenses in section 943.0435, but registration applies if the person shown was a minor and the charge is filed under section 827.071. The Brancato Law Firm reviews the age evidence in every case for that reason, since a single year can change the entire outcome.

How long does the State have to file a revenge porn charge in Florida?

The State has 5 years for a misdemeanor and 7 years for a felony, or 3 years after the person shown discovers the posting, whichever is later. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check every date in the timeline, because conduct before October 1, 2025, also falls under the older, harder-to-prove version of the law. Our pre-file advocacy work starts as soon as you learn of an investigation.

Can the person in the image sue me even if the criminal case is dropped?

Yes. Section 784.049(7) gives the person shown a separate civil claim for $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus punitive damages and attorney fees, and a civil case does not depend on a criminal conviction. The Brancato Law Firm coordinates the criminal defense with that civil exposure so that statements made in one case do not damage the other.

How do you get help with a sexual cyberharassment charge?

Before you answer a detective’s call or reply to the person in the photo, call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. at (813) 727-7159. The firm was founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, and our attorneys can step in before charges are filed, when evidence of consent or misidentification does the most good. Our office is two blocks from the courthouse, and you can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.