November 22, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Candis Hickman
press@50shadesofsilence.com
Man receives a two-year prison sentence and $1 million Jamaican dollars fine for revenge porn case involving Activist & Filmmaker Darieth Chisolm.
After a 3-year fight “50 Shades of Silence” creator and revenge porn survivor receives justice against her aggressor in the first ever U.S. based case tried under Jamaica’s Malicious Communications act.
Pittsburgh, PA – On November 22, Former WPXI Channel 11 News Anchor, turned activist and filmmaker, Darieth Chisolm, received justice in her largely publicized revenge porn case against ex-boyfriend Donovan Anthony Powell. On July 22, 2019 Powell pled guilty to three counts of malicious communication. Today in Jamaica, Judge Jacqueline Wilcot sentenced Powell to two year imprisonment at hard labour and ordered him to pay a fine of $1 million JA or serve four months in prison.
Today Judge Jacqueline Wilcot in Jamaica sentenced Powell to:
- Count 1 – one year imprisonment at hard labour
- Count 2 – one year imprisonment at hard labour
- Count 3 – 1 million dollars (Jamaican dollars) or 4 months imprisonment
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Andrea Swaby told Darieth via a What’s App message this morning that Powell was offered bail pending the appeal of his prison sentence after his lawyer claimed the sentence to be “too harsh.” If the Jamaican Court of Appeals determines the sentence to be too harsh they will re-sentence, however if determined to be an appropriate sentence then he will have to serve the time.
Powell’s bail was set at $800,000 JA which amounts to $5,700 USD. Powell is currently in police custody where he will remain until he satisfies the bond.
Of the sentencing Chisolm said “I can breathe a sigh of relief. There is finally some closure in my personal quest for justice. However, I’m painfully aware that others may never see this day and therefore my mission continues through my documentary and my social global justice project, 50 Shades of Silence, to give voice and dignity to victims of revenge porn.”
In 2017, Darieth, an Emmy award-winning television personality, business coach, author and speaker, found herself at the center of an online assault by a vengeful ex-boyfriend. He cyberstalked and cyber raped her by constructing a website with harassing memes, nude photos and videos that were taken while she was asleep, while living with him in Jamaica. He threatened to destroy her credibility and career after she ended the relationship.
Darieth rose from a very humiliating, painful and potentially professionally damaging incident to tell her story of Everyday Courage and launched 50 Shades of Silence to bring voice and dignity to victims of cyber harassment and abuse.
Darieth also filmed and directed a documentary 50 Shades of Silence, which is currently being accepted in film festivals nationwide.
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“50 Shades of Silence” is a social justice project and short documentary. This multimedia global movement also includes a website with resources and services, and motivational and empowerment training materials to help victims find their Everyday Courage. The project is designed to educate, advocate, and bring awareness to the needs for stricter law enforcement and stiffer penalties for perpetrators, encourage social responsibility among online companies and Internet users, and restore dignity and respect to victims and survivors.
For more information on the campaign, resources and to hear more of Darieth’s story go to www.50shadesofsilence.com