Body-shaming Playboy playmate could face 6 months in jail as target steps forward

A Playboy playmate could face six months in jail now that the target of her body-shaming social media post has come forward to complain.

Model Dani Mathers, 29, surreptitiously snapped a photo of a naked woman in her 70s showering in a gym locker room in Los Angeles and posted it on Snapchat, chortling (and pretending to look shocked): "If I can't unsee this then you can't either."

The woman whose photo was taken without her knowledge has now complained to Los Angeles police, reports TMZ, and Mathers could face up to six months in jail if convicted of a misdemeanor charge of dissemination of a private image.

"We did receive the case from the LAPD. It's currently under review from our office. We will be making a final decision soon" about prosecution, Office of Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer told ABC News

After the 2015 Playmate of the Year was roundly attacked on social media for the July photo, she insisted she had posted it "accidentally" and had only intended to send it to a friend.

"It was absolutely wrong and not what I meant to do. I chose to do what I do for a living because I love the female body and I know body-shaming is wrong," she said in a Snapchat video after removing the post.

"'The photo was taken as part of a personal conversation with a girlfriend and because I am new to Snapchat I didn't realise I had posted it, and that was a huge mistake.

"I know I have upset a lot of people out there but please believe me this is not the type of person that I am. I have never done this before and I will never do this again."

LA Fitness, where the photo was taken, has banned Mathers from its entire chain of gyms for life. She was also suspended from her job at a local radio program, TMZ reported at the time.

The Los Angeles Police Department opened a criminal investigation into the post and had asked the woman in the photo to identify herself and aid in the probe.