In a groundbreaking judgment handed down by the Johannesburg High Court, a couple has been ordered to pay R3.5 million in damages to a woman in a revenge porn incident and for making defamatory comments to others.
A woman approached the court after she found that her ex-boyfriend had shared sexual images and videos as well as created a fake Facebook profile. His wife further made defamatory comments about the woman to others.
According to the judgment, Alison (not her real name) and Mike (not his real name) were involved in a romantic relationship from August 2014 to January 2015.
Mike told Alison that he was not married and proposed to her in December 2014.
In January, 2015, Mike's wife, Martha (not her real name) approached Alison and told her she was in fact married to Mike.
Alison ended her relationship with Mike however, he refused to accept it and showed up at her place of work every morning. She eventually sent him an attorney's letter requesting that he leaves her alone.
Mike continued to send Alison messages via WhatsApp and then started to threaten that he would send 'porno videos' to her attorney.
Mike also threatened to share sex videos that they had filmed, to her family and friends.
He also sent her a link to a Facebook profile he had created, told her he would invite everyone they knew and would post the video he recorded.
He further sent the same video to her so she could see that it was real. Alison said the video was taken without her knowledge when they were together. She said she was also not aware of the photographs he had taken when they were together.
The Facebook profile was set up in August 2015. Mike warned Alison that he would send the explicit videos to everyone if she did not sleep with him.
Also was also contacted by friends and family who had seen the video. The content had also been shared on the fake Facebook profile.
Alison said Mike and Martha's conduct infringed on her personality, privacy as well as on her reputation both professionally and personally.
Alison claimed damages against Mike for his role in the creation of the Facebook account, among other claims, and against Martha, for her speaking to Alison's colleague and make allegations against her. Alison claimed that Martha further spoke to her (Alison's) former colleague about the matter.
Alison said as a result of the ordeal, she saw a psychologist and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She further stated the medication for PTSD had a negative impact on her health.
As per the judgment, Mike and Martha have to pay Alison a total of R3.5 million for damages and medical costs.
The court ruled that both Mike and Martha must pay Alison's costs including the application for the default judgment, expert's fees and the attorney-client scale.
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