A Billerica woman is facing a felony charge after investigators say private sexual images of another woman were posted on Facebook without her consent. Police also allege that a separate social media message included a photograph of the woman’s home.
Stacey Musgrave was extradited to New Hampshire and transferred to the Hudson Police Department after an investigation that began when an adult victim reported learning that private photographs had been posted online, according to Boston 25 News. Investigators say an officer reviewed a screenshot of a Facebook post that allegedly included an identifying photo of the victim, a private sexual image and disparaging remarks. The victim told police the images had been stored on another person’s cellphone and that she never consented to Musgrave obtaining or sharing them. Police also documented an alleged message from Musgrave containing a photo of the victim’s home and additional derogatory language.
What New Hampshire’s Felony Charge Covers
New Hampshire’s nonconsensual-dissemination statute applies when someone purposely shares an identifiable person’s private sexual image with an intent to harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce, while knowing or reasonably expected to know that the person did not consent. The offense is classified as a Class B felony under the New Hampshire statute.
The law is broader than the phrase “revenge porn” can suggest: It focuses on the alleged sharing of the image, the circumstances in which it was obtained and whether the depicted person agreed to its distribution. In a separate case, the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld convictions for nonconsensual dissemination, emphasizing that consent to sexual conduct or image-making does not automatically mean consent to later distribution.
Musgrave was processed and released on personal recognizance bail, and she is scheduled to appear before a judge in Nashua’s 9th Circuit Court in September. The court proceeding will determine how prosecutors’ allegations move forward; the charge is not a finding of guilt, as Boston 25 News reported.
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