This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Farmington • Over two years ago, Shon Handrahan sent nude photos of his estranged wife to her family.
On Tuesday, the Davis County man, whose actions spurred a state law banning so-called revenge porn, pleaded guilty to a number of charges.
Handrahan pleaded guilty in 2nd District Court to two counts of third-degree felony distribution of a pornographic material and two charges of misdemeanor electronic communication harassment.
He is scheduled to be sentenced March 17. Each felony count carries up to five years in prison.
Handrahan was accused of sending approximately 100 text messages to his estranged wife in October 2012, some of them threatening. When she did not respond, he sent "obscene pictures" of his wife to five members of her immediate family, according to a search warrant affidavit.
When charges were originally filed in 2012, Handrahan faced nine charges total, but three distribution counts and two harassment charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Handrahan's wife filed for divorce in December 2012.
The Davis County case led Utah lawmakers to pass a bill during last year's legislative session that made it illegal to share private images without the consent of the person pictured.
"Distribution of an intimate image" is now a class A misdemeanor on a first offense, but can be enhanced to a third-degree felony for repeat offenders.
Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights, sponsored the bill last year. She said last February that there were several "revenge porn" cases in Utah courts at that time.
"This is a situation where you have a couple who could have unwisely or naively shared personal images with one another in the course of their relationship," Poulson said. "And then there's a breakup, and these things are used to harm the other individual, to ruin their life or to destroy them personally in their jobs or in their families."
Twitter: @jm_miller