A judgment on Monday is now the largest in state history in a revenge porn case.
The plaintiff was awarded $600,000 by a judge in Macomb County Court, after her ex-boyfriend shared a video on Facebook.
The victim, who did not want to be identified, said she found about the recording of the pair having sex in December. She said the recording was made without her knowledge or consent. Her ex-boyfriend started spreading the video on Facebook.
"I'm upset that I even had to end up in that courtroom and stand in front of a judge and tell my side of the story,” said the victim.
The victim got an attorney in January after just a few months, the judge awarded her $600,000 and the her ex-boyfriend was ordered to destroy the recording.
"I had no knowledge that it was taking place and yet I still felt incredibly embarrassed and ashamed this had happened to me and I felt incredibly anxious and scared about how far this would go, about how far onto the internet this would get,” said the victim.
She said she was very frustrated at first, when she went to police and did not get any help.
It was only after enlisting an attorney and getting a judgment through civil court that she was able to take control.
"It's too complicated for police officers to deal with many times it requires an expertise and time they're not willing to invest,” said attorney Kyle Bristow, of Bristow Law PLLC.
This is the second case Bristow has won in civil court involving revenge porn and in the previous case, his client won $500,000.
He said, if the victim’s ex-boyfriend attempts to share this video again, he can go to jail and be prosecuted in criminal court.
“People who are thinking about engaging in revenge pornography should think long and hard before they do such things because it is stupid and costly and dangerous,” said Bristow.
Bristow said the ex-boyfriends wages, tax returns and properties can all be garnished in order to satisfy this judgment.
