A woman, identified as “Jane Doe” in court records, has obtained a $6.45 million judgment in federal court against a former boyfriend, David K. Elam II, for accusations that Elam posted intimate photos of her as “revenge porn” online. Revenge porn is online harassment that occurs when former lovers or hackers post sexually explicit images of people online without their permission. In this case, the court found that Elam was liable for the injuries caused by his “systematic revenge porn campaign” and ordered him to pay damages to Doe.
Doe and Elam originally met via online dating site in 2012. During their long distance relationship, Elam had possession of sexually explicit material depicting Doe. After their breakup, Elam posted the sensitive material online and impersonated her on various dating and porn websites. Elam also sent links to the material to various acquaintances of Doe.
In order to prevent further distribution and remove the harmful content, Doe registered the sexually explicit material that was being disseminated with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to obtain the copyrights. Despite Doe obtaining a restraining order requiring Elam to remove the material from the internet and stop impersonating Doe, Elam continued his harassment online.
The $6.45 million judgment included compensatory and punitive damages for copyright infringement, emotional distress, online impersonation with intent to cause harm, and cyberstalking. Along with the $6.45 million judgment against Elam, he was also ordered to destroy the photos and videos.
Revenge porn can be a very serious violation and is worthy of redress. If you or someone you know has been injured by another online, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.