By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
April 8, 2016
APEX – An Apex woman may have been the first person charged under a North Carolina law that took effect late last year prohibiting “revenge porn,” a law supported by the Christian Action League.
“It’s unfortunate such legislation is needed today,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, CAL executive director. “But obviously it is.”
Media reports show Ashley Augustine, 20, of 4320 Suncliffe Court, has been released on a $3,000 bond after being charged last month with disclosure of private images. She is believed to have posted a photo of a Garner woman having sex “with the intent to harass, demean or humiliate her.”
According to the new law, anyone 18 or older who discloses an image of an identifiable person whose intimate parts are exposed or who is engaged in sexual conduct, when the person disclosing such images should have known the individual did not consent to such disclosure or should have known that the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, shall be guilty of a class H felony.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Well, folks, taking and sharing naughty photographs are just getting what they deserve. They ought not to allow themselves to get in such compromising circumstances’,” the Rev. Creech said at the time of the law’s passing.
“In some cases, I think there may be some truth to that accusation. But the Bible says ‘love covers a multitude of sins.’ Law should temper judgment with mercy and this measure does that.”
He said hopefully the recent charge will remind people to think twice before taking or allowing the photos in the first place and then to remember that revenge rarely works as we expect.
“There is a reason Paul reminds us in Romans not to take revenge, but to leave room for God’s wrath,” he said. “Vengeance belongs only to the Lord. Our trying to claim it always gets us into trouble.”