I am not entirely convinced that Victor and Sarah didnt distribute these images themselves, but I will put this theory aside for now.
I am also going to put aside Jurisdiction (FBI), since I believe
there are many factors to determine this as well. I see many scenarios where the FBI could have jurisdiction, and just as many scenarios where the FBI wouldn't have jurisdiction. Also, whether or not they would even take the case on.
Obviously there are MANY factors, but I would like to just touch on a few.
Something I found very interesting is there are currently NO "Revenge Porn" laws, FEDERALLY. I was very surprised by this. Currently 48 states have revenge porn laws. The laws vary state to state. Some states it's a Misdemeanor, and in others a Felony.
Out of curiosity, I looked up where I live. I found an attorneys website where he wrote an article about it.
Here it is:
https://www.eezlaw.com/blog/2022/jul...ones-intimate/
Once again, this is one states laws. Potential offender could be anywhere.
As with any crime, there are certain elements that must be met in order for there to be a crime. In my state, 7 elements of the crime must be met. These are 3 that I believe could pose a significant problem to the prosecutions case and be the deciding factor if the crime occurred in the state of reference.
The first element that would be relevant is Element 5 of 7:
"
They agreed with the person in the image that it would remain private"
This is important, if this element is not met, there is no crime. If Sarah agreed to be "Showered with Gifts" and in exchange gave this guy the pictures but did not give him specific instructions as to "keep these between us", this element does not appear to be met. It is also possible she DID tell him "keep these between us".
The second element that I find relevant is 6 of 7:
"They knew or should have known that distributing the depiction could cause serious emotional distress"
This one is interesting. I would think in the majority of cases this would apply. If the "Sugar Baby" theory is true, the person(s) that distributed these images could assume that she had distributed these images to many men and a decent attorney could argue that she was willing to provide these images to anyone that was "willing to pay", either directly or indirectly and therefore it doesn't meet the element of "causing serious emotional distress". On the other hand, if this happened to be just one romantic partner that she sent these images, this element could be met.
By her creating an Only Fans within hours of these pictures being put out, I think raises serious doubt of it "causing serious emotional distress". I think it would be VERY difficult to get a jury of 12 to agree that this element is met.
Element 7 of 7:
"The person depicted actually suffers from that distress"
Once again, I think the creation of an Only Fans immediately after, shows her state if mind.
Remember the above is one state of 48 with laws on the books.
The 2 states without Revenge Porn laws?
Massachusetts and South Carolina
As far as the person that offered EZ the pictures for $500. EZ said at that point he already had the photos sent to him by a few people. It would be my assumption that this person had received the pictures from someone else, and not from Sarah herself. It is possible he was the "Sugar Daddy", my guess is he was someone in a long chain that received them, and is just trying to make a quick buck.
The above I discussed is the CRIMINAL aspect. It is very possible that CIVIL laws may have been violated, more specifically Copyright. I have not researched the civil aspect, but like criminal, I am sure there are MANY factors o
In determining a violation.
Once again, I still lean towards Sarah and Victor distributing the images intentionally.
Obviously the FBI is supposed to look into every case that is presented to them, but there is simply not enough man power to do this. I think images that a girl willingly took of herself and most likely sent to a random guy(s), then was redistributed is very low on their priority list. Now if the person was a minor, or this was a hidden camera type situation, then I am sure that goes way up in priority.
Just my two cents.