In August, Elizabeth Ann Clark sued her ex-husband Adam Matthew Clark and his new girlfriend for stalking, cyberstalking, revenge porn and libellous comments, which included allegedly posting fake personal ads of her on Craigslist and Facebook. This included posting a partly nude photo of her online. On Tuesday, a jury ruled in favour of the plaintiff, and she was awarded $US3.2 ($5) million, according to the New York Times.
According to the Fayetteville Observer, this is believed to be the first time a trial has reached a decision regarding a revenge porn lawsuit in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Elizabeth sued both her 42-year-old ex-husband as well as his new partner Kimberly Rae Barrett in a Fayetteville court and the lawsuit alleges that the harassment started over a child support payment disagreement, Task and Purpose reported.
According to documents obtained from the plaintiff’s attorney by the Fayetteville Observer, a personal ad was posted in Craigslist’s “Missed Connections” claiming that Elizabeth Clark was unable to care for her children and that she has herpes, and a mocking weight loss ad was posted on Facebook with a partly nude photo as well as a photo of her in her underwear, which Elizabeth Clark allegedly texted her ex while they were married. Elizabeth Clark’s attorney Michael Porter reportedly claims that the ads were posted by Adam.
The trial lasted five days, and deliberations on Tuesday lasted about an hour, lawyers said. The jury decided that Kimberly had to pay Elizabeth Clark $US1.2 ($2) million, and Adam Clark had to pay her $US2 ($3) million, with the judge tacking on another $US10,000 ($14,809) for Adam Clark specifically for engaging in revenge porn, Porter said, the Fayetteville Observer reported.
“I did believe I was going to win because I knew what I was telling was the truth,” Elizabeth Clark told the Fayetteville Observer. “And I know my story, and I knew what I lived through every single day and still to this day, and what I’m going to continue to live through.”