How Cybertrace Helped Win a Landmark Revenge Porn Case in the U.S

Introduction: Turning Digital Evidence into Justice

Revenge porn and sextortion can occur in various ways, from fake or anonymous accounts to former lovers or hackers. Cybertrace’s investigators have previously published articles about this form of crime which can be conducted for a variety of reason such as revenge for an ex-lover, blackmail, scams or a combination of factors. As many legal experts will know, it’s one thing to investigate these illegal acts, but it’s another thing to have a successful court action. Read further and learn how Cybertrace’s expert services helped win a landmark revenge porn case in the U.S under the CARDII Act.

For this case study, we focus on revenge porn and how Cybertrace’s cyber investigators collected evidence, identifying offenders and providing expert testimony in courts to assist victims around the world.

By now, most people are probably familiar with the term revenge porn. It describes the spiteful, non-consensual dissemination, publication or sharing of intimate images, videos or information, usually by begrudging former partners or lovers. While this is of course bad enough in itself, sexual extortion takes things even further. Sexual extortion is image-based sexual abuse and is a form of blackmail where a perpetrator threatens to release intimate images content unless the victim agrees to demands. The demands also vary depending on the motive of the offender and can include the payment of money, provision of additional intimate images, acting as a money mule for criminal organisations or a range of other forced activities.

Case Summary: Jane Doe v. Douglas Constant

In the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, the plaintiff, Jane Doe (not her real name), sought a preliminary injunction against the defendant, Douglas Constant under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWRA), specifically the Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images (CARDII), 15 U.S.C. § 6851.

Jane Doe alleged that the defendant acquired and unlawfully disseminated intimate images of her to various individuals, including her family, colleagues, and landlord, and that he continued to harass her even after legal warnings.

The Court granted the preliminary injunction on 23 July 2024, finding a likelihood that:

1. The images met the statutory definition of “intimate visual depictions.”
2. The disclosures were made through interstate or international channels, such as emails sent from the U.S to recipients located overseas.
3. The plaintiff did not consent to the disclosures.
4. The defendant was the source of the disclosures.

The Court determined there was a substantial risk of “irreparable harm” if the defendant was not restrained and that public interest strongly supported the injunction.

3. Cybertrace’s Role: From Clues to Courtroom

Since 2015, Cybertrace has led the way globally for private cyber investigations; including the provision of specialised investigations and advice to victims of social media crime. Our investigators work from the Cybertrace head office in Australia utilising work leading cyber investigative methods and processes.

Cybertrace not only investigates, but we also develop our own suite of investigative tools to assist with evidence and intelligence collection in this highly specialised field of cyber investigation. Some of these tools are available to the public such as our Scam Phone Number Lookup (SPNL) and SanctionWatch. This not only ensures that our investigators have the best tools available for our investigations, but our tools also assist our website visitors with sourcing information for their own checks and due diligence.

To collect the evidence and intelligence required to solve cases and prepare our reports for dissemination to lawyers and/or courts, we regularly use the following capabilities:

• IP address and port number tracing
• Email account analysis
• Social media analysis
• Technical tracking links
• Attribution of fake social media accounts (Cullen Brennan and Leda Mancini)

Based on the court report from the hearing, the role of Cybertrace was immediately clear through the submission of Cybertrace’s report by the Cybertrace CEO, Dan Halpin and his subsequent expert testimony. The court report states,

“At the hearing, Plaintiff’s counsel elicited testimony from Plaintiff and her private investigator, Dan Halpin. Plaintiff’s counsel also produced the communications containing the intimate visual depictions of Plaintiff and the investigator’s written report.”

The court report continues to partly describe the sound cyber forensic methodology that, in this case, provided evidence linking the Defendant to the revenge porn / sextortion.

Plaintiff’s testimony, along with that of Mr. Halpin, tends to further show that “Leda Mancini” and “Cullen Brennan,” two identities involved with the disclosures,4 were in fact the Defendant acting under pseudonyms. Mr. Halpin testified that he initiated a two-factor authentication request that tied a Telegram account registered to “Leda Mancini” to Defendant’s cell phone number. Furthermore, Mr. Halpin connected the email addresses associated with “Cullen Brennan” and “Leda Mancini” to the Virtual Private Network (“VPN”) of Defendant’s former employer by sending a “technical tracking link” to these email addresses. Once opened, this tracking email relayed back to Mr. Halpin the I.P. address of its terminal location-Defendant’s former employer in Alexandria, Louisiana. As at least one of these intimate image disclosures originated from the email addresses “[email protected]” and “[email protected],” this evidence tends to show that Defendant utilized “Cullen Brennan” as a false persona to distribute these intimate photographs. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff is likely to succeed in showing that Defendant disclosed her intimate visual depictions.

4. Key Evidence: Unmasking the Offender

During the investigation for this case, Cybertrace used a combination of IT forensic and internal proprietary cyber investigation methodology. As global leaders in the cyber investigation industry, Cybertrace has over the past 10 years developed not only a range of highly specialised tools, but also a range of unique investigative methods that were tested in the case of Jane Doe v Douglas Constant.

As cyber investigation is a relatively new investigation type, legal precedent and case law is limited in most global jurisdictions. This case is globally significant because it not only provides justice for the victim but also demonstrates the effectiveness of Cybertrace’s methodology, tools, evidence collection and expert testimony. Cybertrace’s methods were tested in the U.S federal court which established legal precedent that can be relied upon in future matters.

“Furthermore, the testimony of Plaintiff’s investigator, Dan Halpin, tying the numerous online accounts and email addresses utilized in the disclosure to the phone number of Defendant and to the I.P. address of the Defendant’s place of employment at the time of the disclosures, tends to show that Defendant was responsible for the disclosure of Plaintiff’s intimate visual depictions.”

5. Why This Matters: Setting a Global Precedent

The United States (U.S) Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images (CARDII) part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWRA) 2022 provides a federal civil solution for victims whose intimate images are shared without their consent. In the case Jane Doe v Douglas Constant before the U.S District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, the court granted a preliminary injunction under CARDII after finding that the defendant distributed the plaintiff’s intimate images across the state border without consent.

This ruling is significant because it is not only an early application of CARDII legislation in federal court, but it was also the first successful preliminary injunction in the U.S which established an important legal precedent. Ultimately this successful preliminary injunction provided a framework for future victims to seek timely protection and accountability under U.S federal law.

6. What This Means for You: How Cybertrace Can Help

This ruling demonstrates that courts are now recognising and enforcing the new U.S federal protections under CARDII for victims of online abuse involving intimate images. For Cybertrace clients, this validates our professional cyber investigative capability. Cybertrace’s methods provide direct support to civil legal action in U.S federal courts with the potential to provide the same outcome in other global jurisdictions. It also means that victims of revenge porn or sextortion have a clearer legal path for obtaining injunctions and potentially damages. It also demonstrates that Cybertrace’s Investigators, methodology, tools and expertise can play a significant role in identifying offenders and presenting credible evidence to meet CARDII’s legal requirements.

7. Conclusion: Digital Offenders Beware

The CARDII provisions were enacted as Federal law in the U.S in 2022 to address the growing harm of non-consensual sharing of intimate images. While CARDII has been tested in several cases, it was the expert evidence presented by Cybertrace that proved so compelling and decisive that a U.S federal judge applied CARDII to grant injunctive relief for the first time in U.S legal history. This outcome not only validated the strength and accuracy of Cybertrace’s investigative methods but also established a benchmark precedent demonstrating how our capabilities can empower victims to achieve impactful and historic results in court.

The Cybertrace investigative method and expert testimony has been tested and accepted in U.S federal court meaning that future revenge porn or sextortion cases now have legal precedent and a clear pathway for seeking justice.

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