A woman from the US state of Texas has been awarded $1.2 billion in damages after suing her former boyfriend, Marques Jamal Jackson, for distributing explicit images of her without consent. The lawsuit claimed Jackson engaged in revenge porn, sharing intimate photos on social media and other platforms, even tagging her employer and personal gym, The New York Times reported.
The couple, who began dating in 2016 and lived together until their breakup in 2020, had a tumultuous split. The woman, who is identified only by the initials D.L. moved to her mother’s house in Texas, but Jackson continued to harass her, accessing her security system to spy on her.
Despite ending their relationship officially in October 2021, Jackson persisted in sharing explicit images, using her name, address, and images of her face. According to NYT, Jackson created fake social media pages and email accounts to further distribute the material to her family, friends, and co-workers.
DL filed a complaint in April last year, outlining the extensive harassment she endured. Jackson also misused her personal bank account, harassed her through calls and texts, and made false claims to her loan officer. In an email sent by Jackson in last March, he threatened DL, stating, “You will spend the rest of your life trying and failing to wipe yourself off the internet."
After hearing the case, a Houston jury found Jackson liable for violating Texas’ revenge porn law, ordering him to pay $200 million for mental anguish and $1 billion in punitive damages. Brad Gilde, DL’s lawyer, emphasised that while the full sum may not be paid, the verdict sends a strong message as a deterrent.
Gilde termed the case as “image-based sexual abuse" rather than “revenge porn," highlighting the seriousness of the violation. He lauded the verdict for validating DL’s efforts to raise awareness about this issue and encouraging law firms to engage in similar cases to prevent such activities in the future.