Jury verdict, affirmed by judge, is one of largest under Texas law
DALLAS – A judge has affirmed a $250,000 jury verdict for a woman in a revenge porn and invasion of privacy lawsuit, finding that her ex-boyfriend posted intimate images of her that appeared across more than 200 internet web pages over four years.
The verdict is one of the first – and largest – in litigation involving the 2015 Texas Relationship Privacy Act.
Collin County District Judge Benjamin Smith issued the final judgment on Monday in the lawsuit, which was filed in 2020 and decided by a jury in November 2021. Judge Smith issued a separate permanent injunction ordering 26-year-old Diego Rotea of Allen to remove the images from a list of websites and imageboard groups, many of which are notorious for posting revenge porn images.
During the trial, Dallas attorney Kenton Hutcherson presented evidence that Mr. Rotea had posted more than 25 explicit photos of his former girlfriend beginning in December 2016.
“This has been a living nightmare that, sadly, has become all too common,” Mr. Hutcherson said. “This jury heard the evidence and understood the profound impact this nightmare has had on this young woman. Hopefully, the verdict will send a message that behavior like this is outrageous and can have costly consequences.”
After discovering the images in November 2018, the 26-year-old woman went to the Allen Police Department whose investigators never pursued the matter. In June 2020, she asked Frisco police to help, but that resulted in only a cursory investigation.
Images continued to post through 2020, even after the woman confronted Mr. Rotea and told him to stop. The postings disrupted the woman’s life to the point that she gave up her career as a middle school teacher out of fear that the images would be discovered.
View comments about the case from Mr. Hutcherson and the plaintiff here.
A pioneer in developing solutions at the intersection of the law and technology, Hutcherson Law has a national reputation for representing individuals and businesses in litigation involving defamation of character, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, domain name disputes, internet marketing disputes, and invasion of privacy. For more information, visit https://hutchersonlaw.com/.
Media Contact:
Rhonda Reddick
800-559-4534