Hunter Moore, once deemed the most hated man on the internet for pioneering revenge porn, has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking and identity theft
Hunter Moore, once deemed the most hated man on the internet for pioneering revenge porn, has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking and identity theft YouTube

Hunter Moore, the revenge porn pioneer once dubbed the "most hated man on the internet", has pleaded guilty to charges of unauthorised access to a computer and identity theft.

The 28-year-old, who founded and created revenge porn website IsAnyoneUp.com, faces a mandatory minimum of at least two years in federal prison and could also be required to pay $500,000 (£323,695) in fines.

There is also the possibility that he will face three years of supervised release and will be prohibited from using computer equipment without first notifying authorities. He is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on 25 February, but this could be delayed until March.

Moore became notorious while operating IsAnyoneUp from 2009 to 2012. He posted nude and sexually explicit photographs of people without their permission, together with links to their social media profiles.

While some of the images were sent to Moore by angry ex-lovers, he was also found to have paid Charles "Gary" Evens to hack into hundreds of email accounts to search for nude photos for his website.

Evens and Moore were both arrested by the FBI in January 2014, and Evens is scheduled to go on trial on 17 March.

At the website's peak, Moore claimed he was getting 30 million page views a month, which was earning him monthly ad revenue of at least $10,000. His success spawned several copycats, including IsAnybodyDown.com by Craig Brittain and ugotposted.com by Kevin Bollaert, both also US citizens.

In January, Brittain settled with the US Federal Trade Commission. He is now banned from posting any more nude photos of people without their explicit permission, and must destroy any intimate images and sensitive personal information he has collected together with submissions to his website.

Meanwhile, Bollaert pleaded guilty to 27 charges of extortion and identity theft on 2 February. He will be sentenced on 13 April.

In England and Wales, revenge porn is now illegal, following a new law passed on 12 February 2015. Perpetrators can face up to two years in prison.

The charity South West Grid for Learning has also set up a helpline for victims of revenge porn that offers free legal advice and support, following a disturbing trend that suggests the crime is now being perpetrated against children as young as 11.

FBI