By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Supreme Court rules a Boone County man who posted a sex video online to get back at his former girlfriend does not have to register as a sex offender.

Kadin Miller recorded himself having consensual sex with his girlfriend and then posted the video to an online porn site several months later, saying it was revenge after the relationship ended badly He was found guilty of harassment and the district court ruled the posting of the video was sexually motived and Miller was ordered to register as a sex offender. A forensic psychologist  who examined Miller testified on behalf that  the crime “is really based on anger and revenge.” She testified that it would be “atypical” for this type of crime to be sexually motivated.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the prosecution failed to present evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Miller’s harassment was sexually motivated. The ruling says that just because a sex act was performed for sexual gratification, that doesn’t mean the posting of the video was also for sexual gratification.

Chief Justice Susan Christensen wrote a dissenting opinion, saying so-called “revenge porn” has many motives other than personal vindictiveness, such as “greed, voyeurism, and self-aggrandizement.” She says the act of distributing sexually graphic images without the person’s consent is more appropriately described by the term “nonconsensual pornography,” which is a form of “image based sexual abuse.”

Here’s the full ruling: Miller ruling PDF