Michigan Man Sentenced for “Revenge Porn” in Bartholomew County
COLUMBUS, Ind. – An 18-year-old Michigan man has received a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a “revenge porn” case in Columbus. Jesse J. Price, 18, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, will serve the first year in the Bartholomew County Jail, with the remainder suspended to five years of probation.
Price pleaded guilty to five counts of Distribution of an Intimate Image, all Class A misdemeanors. A Level 5 felony charge of Child Exploitation was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
The case originated in March 2024 when the Columbus Police Department received a complaint from a 17-year-old local female. She reported that her ex-boyfriend had posted intimate images of her on a pornographic website, including her name and home address. The victim became aware of the posting when a stranger contacted her, seeking more images. She recognized the images as ones she had previously shared with her former boyfriend.
The complaint was quickly referred to the Bartholomew County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which investigated the case in cooperation with Michigan’s ICAC Task Force. Local investigators secured a search warrant for the involved pornography site. Although the images were removed shortly after being posted, investigators were able to confirm that Price had uploaded them.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay commended the Columbus Police Department and Michigan State Police for their diligent work on the case. Holden-Kay highlighted the particularly disturbing nature of the crime due to the victim being contacted by a stranger as a direct result of the illegal posting.
“ICAC investigators work with victims of crimes like this to get images removed from the Internet and hold offenders accountable,” Holden-Kay stated. She urged the public to report internet crimes against children to their local law enforcement agency or to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THELOST or CyberTipline.org.
