WEST BATH, Maine — Under terms of a plea agreement, a West Bath man pleaded guilty to all charges Thursday in the state’s first “revenge porn” case and received a deferred disposition for one year.
John Dunne Jr., 27, formerly of Bath, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal invasion of computer privacy and misdemeanor counts of criminal invasion of computer privacy, theft and unauthorized dissemination of certain private images, according to Sagadahoc County Assistant District Attorney Alexander Willette.
According to the disposition agreement signed by Justice Daniel Billings, if Dunne complies with conditions, including undergoing a psychological evaluation and participating in counseling as recommended following the evaluation, the felony charge will be dismissed in one year, Willette, who prosecuted the case, said Thursday.
For the misdemeanor counts, Billings sentenced Dunne to 364 days in jail, with all but 14 days suspended, one year of probation and a $2,000 fine. He will serve that sentence at the end of one year, when Billings determines whether he has successfully complied with the deferred disposition.
“If he violates it in any way in the next year or makes contact with the victims in the case, or violates any other terms of the agreement, he’ll have an open plea and the felony will stay on his record,” Willette said.
Dunne was arrested March 18 on two warrants charging him with posting private photos of local residents on various internet sites.
Police said Dunne copied or uploaded a photo of an acquaintance who was topless from her boyfriend’s cellphone after the boyfriend left it on a table at The Cabin Restaurant in November. Dunne was an employee at The Cabin at the time.
He then uploaded the photo to two websites from his former home in Bath.
The woman and her boyfriend were alerted to the photos online by friends in January and called Bath police.
According to the complaint, Dunne also posted a partially nude photo of another female acquaintance online.
The “revenge porn” law was passed by the Maine Legislature in 2015.
“The benefit of the [deferred disposition] agreement is that he is going to have two years of supervision, and he’s still serving a jail sentence of 14 days guaranteed,” Willette said. “He’ll have lots of incentive to stay on the straight and narrow over the next year.”