This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday making it illegal to knowingly distribute a private, sexually explicit image of a person without that individual’s consent.

Senate Bill 251, commonly known as revenge porn legislation, was developed to protect privacy and prevent irreparable harm to individuals who fall victim to these practices.

SB 251 prohibits nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images without consent, allows the victim to take civil action if someone distributes their sexual photos without their consent, and provides protections to victims in an academic setting.

The companion legislation, House Bill 497, has the same requirements as SB 251.

Both SB 251 and HB 497 set penalties for those who distribute revenge porn.  Offenders would receive misdemeanor charges if found guilty.  The degree of these charges varies based on the number of revenge porn offenses the individual has.

SB 251 will now go on to the Ohio House of Representatives.