New Castle lawmakers are mulling the idea of making revenge porn a crime.

Town officials say they don't necessarily believe it's happening in the area, but they say it's a very real problem.

Revenge porn is the distribution of explicit pictures or videos of a person without their consent. Its purpose is usually extortion or embarrassment.

A total of 40 states have made revenge porn a crime, but that's not the case in New York.

Town board member Jeremy Saland is an attorney and says he handles cases like this. He says without laws on the books, it's hard for victims to find recourse against a person committing revenge porn.

"This is a gaping hole in protecting people," says Saland. "Whether it's through civil remedies, whether it's through criminal remedies and it's unfortunately becoming more prolific."

He says it's a reason he started a discussion in New Castle.

"There needs to be a standard in place that those who perpetrate these crimes are going to be responsible," he says.

A drive to make revenge porn a crime in New York failed this year. Saland says the town will be drafting legislation against cyberbullying that will also criminalize revenge porn.

He's hoping the state will also take action on the issue and pass a law.