Revenge Porn Laws in Maine: What Victims Need to Know in 2026

What Maine Law Says

Maine addresses revenge porn under Title 17-A, Section 511-A of the Maine Revised Statutes, titled "Unauthorized dissemination of certain private images." The law classifies the offense as a Class D crime (equivalent to a misdemeanor).

A Class D crime in Maine carries penalties of up to 364 days in jail and fines up to $2,000. Section 511-A sets one class, Class D, for this offense. Maine's law addresses NCII distribution with meaningful criminal consequences.

Review the statute at the Maine Legislature website.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in Maine

Maine's statute defines the offense through these elements. The content must be an image of a person in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act or sexual contact. Since a 2025 amendment, this also includes an image created or modified so that it appears to show the person that way. The offender intentionally or knowingly disseminated, displayed, or published the image with intent to harass, torment, or threaten the depicted person or another person, with no public or newsworthy purpose. The offender knew or should have known that the depicted person was identifiable and had not consented.

Maine's law requires proof of intent to harass, torment, or threaten. Dissemination without consent is not enough on its own. The law covers all distribution methods, including social media platforms like Reddit and Instagram, messaging services, websites, and email.

How to Report

Maine victims should take these steps:

  1. Preserve evidence — Screenshot images, save URLs, document account information, and keep all related communications.
  2. Contact local law enforcement — File a report with your city police or county sheriff's office. Reference Title 17-A, Section 511-A.
  3. Contact the district attorney — Each prosecutorial district in Maine has a DA office that handles criminal cases.
  4. Report to the FBI — File with the FBI IC3 for internet-based distribution.
  5. Seek a protection from abuse order — Maine courts can issue protective orders addressing harassment and image distribution.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Maine's criminal law provides important protections, but practical limitations persist. Maine's small and largely rural population means law enforcement resources are distributed thin. Many smaller departments may lack specialized capabilities for investigating digital crimes.

The criminal process takes time, and intimate images remain accessible throughout. A conviction does not trigger automatic content removal from platforms or search engines. The court's authority extends only to the defendant, not to third-party websites or social media companies.

Cases involving anonymous offenders or those located outside Maine present jurisdictional challenges. Internet-based distribution frequently crosses state and national boundaries, complicating investigation and enforcement.

Removing the Content

Content removal must proceed independently of criminal proceedings.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to remove qualifying intimate imagery and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies within 48 hours of a valid request. The platform and request must meet the law's requirements. See FTC guidance; this is not a universal service turnaround guarantee.

StopNCII.org enables victims to create hashes of their images that participating platforms use to block future sharing.

IntimaShield files intimate-image removal requests as your authorized representative across multiple sites and files Google and Bing de-index requests for the links in your case. Monitoring of your names and handles is a separate Shield subscription.

See also: New York's revenge porn law for a Northeast state comparison.

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