Man To Pay $500,000 For Posting Ex-Girlfriend's Nude Photos On Porn Site

A court has ordered an Oak Park, Michigan man to pay his ex-girlfriend $500,000 for intentionally distributing her nude photos and videos on a pornography website.

In the 35-year-old Maryland woman's complaint, filed in Oakland County Circuit Court in Dec. 14, 2020, she alleged that the 39-year-old Oak Park man posted them on the website Pornhub without her consent in what is believed to be an act of "revenge porn," local newspaper Detroit News reported.

The woman accused her ex-boyfriend of creating a profile on the pornography website in June last year and used it to publish her nude photos and videos. The victim's attorney, Kyle Bristow of Mt. Clemens-based Bristow Law, said the man received the images and clips when they were in a relationship years ago.

"Revenge porn is a type of online harassment that occurs when an ex-partner or even a hacker posts sexually explicit images of a person online without their permission," legal information provider FindLaw defined. It is a relatively new crime that carries varying degrees of punishments and fines depending on the state where it was committed.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen ruled that the woman owns the copyrights to the photos and videos her ex-boyfriend distributed and ordered him to remove them from the internet and destroy any of the remaining materials that he still possessed. The victim's attorney said the man could face jail time if he does not comply with the judge's ruling.

The man is accused of including information such as the woman's name and city so the published materials would have a higher chance of appearing in search engine results if they were to be searched.

The woman's attorney welcomed the ruling.

"My client is thrilled with the decisive legal victory we achieved," Bristow said.

Bristow has worked on similar cases in the past and said most of his clients were women who were victimized by revenge pornographers.

"When I go after a revenge pornographer, I am prepared to use all resources at my disposal to see the matter through to a just and equitable conclusion. And this never ends well for the cowardly punks who victimize women by publishing their nude photographs online," he explained.

The Michigan man has not been identified in order to protect the victim's identity, per Detroit News.