A woman who was the victim of revenge porn has been awarded a “staggering” $1.2billion (£944 million) by a Texan jury.
The victim, who has been referred to by the initials DL in court documents, filed a harassment lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Marques Jackson in 2022.
She alleges that he posted private and intimate photos of her online.
The woman, from Houston, says Jackson posted the pictures to “publicly shame” her after the pair broke up.
The staggering pay out was 12 times the amount her lawyers had expected
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Her lawyers have said that her win is a win for victims of “image-based sexual abuse”.
"While a judgment in this case is unlikely to be recovered, the compensatory verdict gives DL back her good name," said Bradford Gilde, the lead trial lawyer.
The staggering pay out was 12 times the amount her lawyers had expected.
The lawyers had originally asked the jury for $100million in damages.
Jackson has been ordered to pay his ex-partner $200million (£158million) for past and future mental anguish, as well as $1billion in punitive damages.
"We hope the staggering amount of this verdict sends a message of deterrence and prevents others from engaging in this despicable activity,” Gilde added.
The woman and Jackson began dating in 2016, according to court documents.
During their relationship, she sent intimate photos of herself to the defendant.
He has been accused of sharing the photos online without her consent after their breakup in 2021.
Jackson made a Dropbox folder with all the photos, and shared it to people she knows
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Jackson allegedly posted the images on both social media platforms and adult websites.
He also supposedly uploaded the images into a publicly accessible Dropbox folder, which he then sent to friends, family, and co-workers of the woman.
The defendant was also accused of having access to her phone and social media accounts, as well as to the camera system at her mother’s house, which he used to spy on her.
According to court documents, the defendant sent the woman an ominous message telling her she will never be able to escape the images.
“You will spend the rest of your life trying and failing to wipe yourself off the internet. Everyone you ever meet will hear the story and go looking. Happy hunting.”
US media reports that he did not turn up to court and had an attorney to represent him instead.