A Chicago Blackhawks prospect has been charged under Illinois’ “revenge porn” law for disseminating sexual images without consent.
Garret E. Ross, 23, who plays for the Rockford IceHogs, an affiliate of the Blackhawks, was officially charged with non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images, according to a complaint filed last month in DeKalb County Circuit Court. The complaint states that Ross shared pictures of a woman “engaged in a sexual act, which was obtained under circumstances which Ross should have known the image was to remain private and should have known that [the alleged victim] had not consented to the dissemination,” read the complaint.
The Blackhawks issued a statement saying that Ross has been suspended indefinitely while the case proceeds.
“(The Blackhawks and IceHogs) learned of a legal proceeding against IceHogs player Garret Ross. At that time, we excused Garret from team activities pending our preliminary review of the matter. After further review, we have determined to suspend Garret indefinitely pending the outcome of the legal process. Because this is a pending legal proceeding, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Ross is due back in court on Mach 28.
Illinois Revenge Porn Law
This will be an interesting case, as the revenge porn law is relatively new here in Illinois. Plenty of people have been charged with disseminating private sexual images without consent since the bill was signed into law back in December 2014, but this is a bigger profile case. It involves an athlete who is working his way towards a professional contract.
Under the law signed by then-Gov. Pat Quinn, dissemination of private sexual images without consent is a Class 4 felony, which is punishable by one to three years in prison and a fine up to $25,000. The law also states that the offender would have to forfeit any money or goods they received in exchange for posting the images, but it seems unlikely that Ross was compensated for sharing the sexually-charged images.
The law was put in place to discourage individuals from sharing intimate photos of exes, as the images can tarnish reputations and ruin careers. Illinois is one of 26 states with a revenge porn law in place, and Illinois comes down harder on offenders than the vast majority of the states. We’ll have to keep an eye on the case and see how it plays out.