EC man will serve 100 days in jail in "revenge porn" case

Jun. 14—CHIPPEWA FALLS — An Eau Claire man will serve a 100-day jail sentence after he was convicted in a "revenge porn" case, where he was accused of sending sexually explicit images of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend to the woman's Facebook friends.

Duane M. Rene, 67, 2009 Crescent Ave., pleaded no contest on Friday in Chippewa County Court to one count of bail jumping; charges of identity theft, posting or publishing a sexually-explicit image without consent and defamation were read-in and dismissed.

Judge Ben Lane ordered the jail sentence, but gave Rene credit for two days already served. Rene also has the option to serve the sentence in another jail if there is no additional cost to Chippewa County. Rene also must pay a $518 fine and submit a DNA sample.

According to the criminal complaint:

A 48-year-old woman told authorities in March 2018 that "a vast majority of her Facebook friends, including some of her family members, had received explicit images from her Facebook account." The pictures showed her and an adult male engaging in sexual acts.

The woman said that Rene, who is her ex-boyfriend, knew the password to her Facebook account.

One of Rene's friends told police that Rene had admitted to him that he had sent the images.

Rene appeared via video for the hearing; he is already incarcerated in the Eau Claire County Jail on charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, possession of a firearm by a felon, false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery. He has been held on a $50,000 cash bond since May 2020.

Rene is also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and intentionally pointing a firearm at another person in Dunn County Court. He returns to that court on July 13.