Tiffany Ownbey, Mayor of Belton, South Carolina, has revealed that she's been a victim of "revenge porn" in hopes of creating guidelines to help stop it.
According to a statement released by her attorney, Druanne White, Ownbey was in a relationship with a man who secretly videotaped a private moment on his cell phone. He later used that video in a threat to her, trying to avoid a breakup, People reports.
White continues that Ownbey said she would press charges if the clip was released, and the two of them did not speak again for years.
After being elected as Mayor of Belton, Ownbey began to hear whispers that the video might be released. She called on South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate.
"She realized that, as a female leader, she had to stand firm against this kind of conduct that other females would see her example and fight back," White shared.
The video ended up being released anyway.
The statement reads, "Tiffany will continue to lead the fight against predatory sexual behavior. It is 2020. She wants to make sure that there are adverse consequences for those who secretly record a sexual interlude and then use it as revenge porn."
According to Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, 46 states have laws against revenge porn, excluding South Carolina.
"It is time for South Carolina to enact a legislation to protect women form this kind of sexual predatory behavior," White says. SLED has since begun to investigate the video.
"People can bash me all they want but this could happen to anyone's daughter and probably is happening as we speak," Ownbey wrote on her Facebook page.