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

Ohio criminalized non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images in 2019, giving victims in the Buckeye State a legal framework to fight back. Here is what the law covers and how to pursue both justice and content removal.

What Ohio Law Says

Ohio Revised Code Section 2917.211 makes it illegal to knowingly disseminate an image of another person who is 18 or older and nude or engaged in a sexual act, when the dissemination is without consent and made with intent to harm the person in the image. Since House Bill 96 took effect on September 30, 2025, this offense is a fifth-degree felony, punishable by six to twelve months in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. If the offender has a prior conviction for this offense, a sexually oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense, it becomes a fourth-degree felony, carrying six to eighteen months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The same law added felony offenses for disseminating, creating, or soliciting fabricated sexual images, such as AI-generated images, without consent. Ohio Revised Code Section 2307.66 gives victims a civil action for an injunction, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees, filed within four years after the victim discovers the image.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in Ohio

Ohio law covers images of a person 18 or older who is nude or engaged in a sexual act and who can be identified from the image or from information the offender supplied with it. The dissemination must be knowing, meaning the person was aware they were sharing the material. The statute requires that the dissemination was done without the depicted person's consent and with intent to harm the person in the image. This intent requirement means that not all non-consensual sharing of a real image is covered; the prosecution must establish an intent to harm. The law does not cover images of an adult who knowingly and willingly was nude or engaged in a sexual act in a place where there was no reasonable expectation of privacy.

How to Report

Ohio victims should take the following steps to protect their rights. Document every instance of the images with screenshots showing URLs, dates, and any contextual information. File a police report with your local police department or county sheriff, citing Ohio Revised Code Section 2917.211. Contact the county Prosecuting Attorney's office to discuss criminal charges. Consult with an attorney experienced in internet privacy law about civil remedies, including damages and injunctive relief. If you know the identity of the person who posted the images, preserve all communications that could demonstrate their intent to harm you.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Ohio's intent requirement, specifically the need to prove intent to harm the person in the image, presents a significant challenge. Perpetrators may claim they shared images for entertainment, bragging, or other purposes that do not meet this specific threshold. Cross-state jurisdiction complications arise frequently, particularly when content is posted on platforms hosted outside Ohio. The criminal process can take many months from report to resolution, and during that time images continue to circulate. No criminal conviction includes automatic content removal from online platforms.

Removing the Content

Content removal and a criminal or civil case address different parts of the problem. 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. Eligible adults can use StopNCII themselves for participating-platform matching. For managed help with known links, review your removal scope.