Wanted to make a simple, easy-to-reference refutation of this information since it keeps getting brought up for some reason. Special thanks to Haru Okumura who did excellent step by step write up here.
Virginia-based podcaster Ethan Ralph has been found guilty of a sex crime, despite his repeated claims that he is not a sex offender. Ralph has been arguing that the distribution of revenge pornography, a crime he committed on August 11th, 2020, is not a sex offense according to the Code of Virginia. Ralph relied on the confusing writing of the code to hide the fact that he is now a convicted sex offender, even going so far as to trick Frederick "Hotwheels" Brennan into using his authority on Wikipedia to remove "convicted sex offender" from Ralph's Wikipedia article.
However, despite Ralph's attempts to muddy the waters, the Code of Virginia clearly lists the distribution of revenge pornography as a sex crime. The Code of Virginia does not have a single grouping of statutes that are classified as sex crimes. Instead, Virginia's sex crimes are parceled out across various other primary categories, and are then also sex crimes on top of that primary classification. Ralph's crime, "Unlawful Dissemination or Sale of Images of Another," is listed under Title 18.2, Chapter 8, Article 5, which is primarily classified as a crime of "Obscenity and Related Offenses." Ralph argued that he was merely convicted of a crime of obscenity, pointing to this classification in the Code.
However, the portion of the Code of Virginia devoted to sex crimes is Title 9.1, Chapter 9: The Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act. This Act sets forth the crimes for which a Virginia resident can be forced to register as a sex offender and mandates that the Virginia State Police maintain an internet-based resource related to these crimes. Code of Virginia 9.1-902 outlines the list of statutes that are classified as sex offenses. These crimes are not placed in a single section of the Code, but are instead drawn from various categories throughout the Code and listed together in Code of Virginia 9.1-902, and conveniently tabulated by the Virginia State Police as per CoV 9.1-913.
The Virginia State Police's online resource provides information about sex crimes, including what type of conviction can land an offender on the registry for a given statute. The crime Ralph was convicted of, 18.2-386.2, is explicitly listed as a sex crime, but only if the offense was committed after July 10th, 2020. Ralph committed his crime on August 11th, 2020, so he is a convicted sex offender, even if he was not convicted enough times to have to register.
Ralph's statement that "Unlawful Dissemination or Sale of Images of Another" is not a sex crime holds no water per both the Code of Virginia and the Virginia State Police. The Code of Virginia empowers and mandates the Virginia State Police to maintain the canonical list of Virginian sex offenses, and the State Police has designated 18.2-386.2, Ralph's crime, as such.
In conclusion, despite Ralph's claims to the contrary, he is a convicted sex offender. Ralph's deflections rely on the fact that the actual entry for his crime does not state it is a sex offense within the body of the statute. However, that is not how the Code of Virginia handles sex crimes in general. Even more extreme sex crimes like "Taking indecent liberties with children," CoV 18.2-370, do not mention that they are sex crimes or that they could result in the registry within the statute itself, despite falling into the highest tier of sex offenses.