Miami Beach police arrested Antonio Giansante Thursday for possessing and promoting child pornography.
Giansante started having consensual sexual relations with a girl -- now in her late twenties -- back in Puerto Rico when she was 16. He was her high school soccer coach. The couple moved to Miami Beach together when she was an adult.
The affidavit says the victim broke up with Giansante in 2012. Last year, Giansante attempted to post nude images and videos of the victim when she was 16 or 17 to her social media accounts and her job’s computer system -- a government entity that flagged the images.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said at a press conference that this was not just a case of child pornography. She says it was also revenge porn.
"It’s a new instrumentality of domestic violence. It's a new weapon," said Rundle.
Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco said if this woman wasn’t underage at the time the images were taken, then there’s nothing the city could legally do against Giansante for revenge porn.
"The message to Tallahassee is very simple: shame on you if you're not supporting legislation that gives law enforcement the tools to be able to prosecute and arrest these individuals," said Grieco.
Rundle said revenge porn legislation failed last year. But this year, advocates have bills pending in the House and the Senate to charge revenge porn as a felony crime.
Click here to read more about this case from the Miami Herald.
