Technology is almost always a step or two ahead of the law, and that gives the criminal element a bit of a head start. Until the law catches up, those who would misuse technology often get a free pass.

Such was the case in Manhattan a few years ago when a spurned boyfriend posted naked pictures of his former girlfriend to social media and added injury to insult by sending the images to her employer and sister, all without her consent. That's wrong by any standard of decency.

But it wasn't specifically illegal, and a Manhattan judge had no choice but to dismiss criminal charges against the alleged perpetrator. The district attorney simply couldn't find a law that directly addressed the conduct at issue–the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images or what is colloquially described as "revenge porn"—so there was nothing law enforcement could do about it.

Those days are presumably gone.

On July 23, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill making this form of cyber sexual abuse a Class A misdemeanor. It took effect on Sept. 21.

New York State was way behind in enacting such a law—45 other states beat us to it—but ours is unique in that it not only criminalizes the conduct but also empowers victims to seek a court order forcing a website to remove the offending image. That's key.  Creating a new crime will hopefully deter and punish such conduct, but it does little to mitigate the damage or stop the continuing humiliation.

And the damage is substantial.

One survey found that one in 10 former partners threaten to post intimate images of an ex-partner, and 60 percent of them actually do.  A study by the Cyber Rights Initiative found that 47 percent of revenge porn victims have contemplated suicide. Victims tend to be re-victimized in perpetuity and subjected to endless harassment and stalking. Some have lost their jobs, others were forced to leave school or change schools. Teenage girls are especially susceptible to suicide, anorexia and other mental illnesses triggered by cyber sexual abuse.

And, until now, there was precious little the justice system could do about it. Victims could sue the perpetrator, of course. But unless the offender happened to have significant assets, a lawsuit often wasn't worth the trouble and expense. States, starting with New Jersey back in 2004, reacted to the revenge porn trend by enacting criminal laws.  But a number were struck down by the courts, mostly on free speech grounds.

Over the past several years, legislatures have been engaged in a trial-and-error effort to draft a law that is both effective and constitutional, and some have been more successful than others. New York State, albeit late to the party, had the advantage of learning what worked elsewhere (including some municipalities such as New York City that enacted local laws) and what did not, and hopefully crafted a statute with the teeth to stand up against the perpetrators, and the foundation to withstand the constitutional challenges that are sure to come. Time will tell.

As Governor Cuomo said when signing the measure, "Our laws have not kept pace with technology and how abusers can use it to harass, intimidate and humiliate intimate partners." Unfortunately, our laws will never keep pace with technology, and as a society, all we can do is react to the ever-ingenious and devious ways some people find to hurt each other.

Gail Prudenti is dean and executive director of the Center for Children, Families and the Law at Hofstra University Maurice A. Dean School of Law.