COURTHOUSE >> A New Jersey man found out that prosecutors take so-called “revenge porn” crimes seriously and faces court supervision for disseminating intimate images of a Springfield Township woman via Facebook Messenger.
Douglas James Wonderlin, 46, of the 400 block of Creamer Avenue, Beverly, New Jersey, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 14 days already served to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image in connection with incidents that occurred between May and June 2016.
Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, gave Wonderlin credit for time he spent in jail between Nov. 3 and Nov. 17, 2016.
Wonderlin also must complete 36 hours of community service as a condition of the sentence and also was ordered to undergo drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations and to comply with all recommendations for treatment.
“The allegations here are that the defendant in a moment of outrage against his ex, essentially, decided to take intimate photos that she had sent him when they had been together and threatened her multiple times to post that for the world to see on Facebook,” county Assistant District Attorney Alexandria MacMaster alleged.
“This is a case that was about revenge. Their private moments that she trusted him with, he completely took advantage of that and betrayed any type of trust that they had. It’s a huge and complete invasion of privacy that no one should have to go through,” MacMaster added. “This is something we take seriously. We will prosecute crimes of revenge porn on the Internet, in social media.”
An investigation began in May 2016, when the victim, a woman who lives in the Flourtown section of Springfield Township, Montgomery County, contacted township police to report that she had been receiving harassing phone calls and text messages from Wonderlin, her former boyfriend.
During the time that they were dating, the woman had sent Wonderlin, and only Wonderlin, numerous nude photos of herself via text message as well as Facebook Messenger. Both methods of communication were directly from the woman to Wonderlin and the photos were never sent to anyone else, Springfield Township Detective Robert Baiada alleged in the arrest affidavit.
“(The woman) has been receiving phone calls, texts and messages via Facebook from Wonderlin, who was threatening her that he would post the nude photos to her work and put up the photos in the parking lot of her job,” Baiada alleged, adding Wonderlin did post some of the nude photos to the woman’s Facebook page on May 28, 2016.
On June 1, Wonderlin allegedly contacted the woman, threatening to send the nude photos to her children and to post the photos on Facebook. Police contacted Wonderlin on that date and ordered him to stop contacting the woman. Court documents indicate the woman also sought a protection from abuse order against Wonderlin.
However, on June 3, the nude photos of the woman were sent to a male friend of the woman’s daughter via Facebook Messenger, an instant messaging service, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Wonderlin is the only person that would possess the nude photos that were disseminated,” Baiada alleged in the arrest affidavit.
MacMaster said the case offers a message to others who might be considering similar actions while using the Internet or social media.
“Revenge porn is something we will continue to take seriously, especially with all the new different types of apps out there and websites, social media outlets. You cannot take personal, intimate images that someone has sent you and post them for the world to see,” MacMaster said. “We’re taking these cases seriously and want to make sure that message is heard loud and clear.”
