A woman in US state of Texas who said she lived in fear for years was awarded over a billion dollars by a jury in a revenge-porn case, considerably more than her attorneys had asked for.
Identified only as Jane Doe in legal documents, the woman had dated the man, named as Jamal Jackson Marques, for four years before their relationship ended in 2021.
It was then that the harassment began, with Jackson posting intimate photos and videos on Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, and Pornhub, her attorney Bradford J. Glide said, according to local TV channel KHOU 11.
"Every day was me, wake up, I'm checking, I'm trying to prevent it, I'm trying to constrain it," the woman told ABC 13. "This type of experience is devastating," she added.
During their relationship, Jane Doe had consented to privately sharing some intimate photos with Jackson. However, she had made it clear — both explicitly and implicitly — that they were not to be disclosed to anyone else, court documents said.
But court documents said that the ex-boyfriend began unlawfully distributing the private photos and videos by publicly uploading them to multiple social media and other online platforms, often accompanied by identifying features such as her name and home address.
Jackson took the invasion of privacy further, gathering additional material by secretly logging into Jane Doe's mom's home security system to spy on her via its audio and visual features, according to court documents.
Court documents, as well as remarks by her attorney to ABC 13, showed that Jackson went to great lengths to share the private material, creating fake profiles on platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
He would then send messages and emails containing hyperlink URLs to Jane Doe's friends, family, and coworkers, according to court documents.
Jackson also created a public website with a Dropbox folder attached, which contained intimate images, court documents said, along with a page impersonating her on Pornhub, an attorney told KHOU 11.
Additionally, Jackson tagged the social media accounts of Jane Doe's workplace and gym on social media, directing them to links containing the photos and videos, according to court documents.
"His purpose is to ruin her," the woman's attorney, Gilde, said, per KHOU 11.
Adding to the torment, Jackson gained unauthorized access to Jane Doe's bank account, using her money to cover his own rent, while further subjecting her to relentless calls and messages from concealed phone numbers, according to court documents.
Texas made it a felony to share intimate photos or videos of someone without their consent in 2015, with the law updated in 2019 to include the intention of harming the person.
The case went to a jury last week, which took just 30 minutes to reach their verdict, ABC 13 reported.
Jane Doe was awarded $1.2 billion, more than the $1 billion her attorneys had asked for, but it is unlikely she will receive anywhere near that much
Regardless, her attorney Jacob Schiffer told KHOU 11 that the ruling sends a powerful message: "Do not mess with Texas and do not mess with Texas women."–insider.com