Last week we shared a story about Garret Ross, a hockey player in the Chicago Blackhawks’ minor league system who had been charged under Illinois’ revenge porn law. Ross had been charged with disseminating photos of the complainant “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.”
The revenge porn charges were dropped on Tuesday. Illinois prosecutors said they did not have the proper jurisdiction to move forward with charges after determining that the transmission of the photos occurred in Michigan. Unlike Illinois, Michigan is one of 24 states that does not have revenge porn laws on the books.
Murky Details
According to court records, the complainant admitted to sharing nude videos and pictures with Ross and one of his teammates. Both players had girlfriends at the time, and while Ross’ teammate broke off the relationship with the complainant, it appears that Ross’ girlfriend discovered the videos and broke up with him. The complainant stated that both men blamed her for Ross being dumped by his girlfriend, and it appears that the woman stated that Ross passed those images on to other individuals. It’s a complicated situation, but it doesn’t sound like it has any more life here in Illinois.
Ross had been suspended by the team pending the outcome of his criminal case. On Tuesday, the Blackhawks announced that he had been reinstated to the Rockford Icehogs.