Revenge Porn Plot Costs Woman Nearly $1 Million After Her N.J. Ex-Boyfriend Wins Lawsuit
A New Jersey federal court ordered an Oregon woman to pay her ex-boyfriend about $931,000 for publishing sexual videos and images of him online. S.S. briefly dated Dezarae Collins in 2015, according to court documents. Collins promised to keep private content private but uploaded it publicly, creating years of harassment, lawyers said.
Collins harassed Marine Corps veteran S.S. and others starting in 2016, according to the February 2023 case. Court documents show Collins texted, called, and emailed S.S.’s family, employer, and new girlfriend. She reportedly made 250 daily family calls.
Collins allegedly sent personal S.S. recordings and photographs to his and his girlfriend’s families in 2022, increasing abuse. The court found that anonymous chat platforms disseminated two movies and twelve photos of S.S.’s private body parts and sexual behaviors over 77 times. Collins posted pornographic photos and gave his Social Security number and birthday on a fake Facebook profile as S.S.
S.S. changed his social media name and filed multiple restraining orders due to harassment. According to court records, he lost various jobs and changed his phone number over 100 times in seven years to avoid abuse.
Collins failed to answer to the complaint or appear in court, therefore a default judgment was entered in December 2023. For the 77 instances of shared material, Judge Karen M. Williams fined S.S. $1,000, $150,000 in statutory damages for the photos and videos, and $681,000 in punitive damages, totaling over $931,000.
S.S.’s attorney, Daniel S. Szalkiewicz, said the verdict was noteworthy because “No matter how strong or resilient a person may be, no one should be expected to withstand this kind of abuse.” In the U.S., revenge porn and online abuse are illegal.
Experts think this case sends a message to anyone who post intimate content without consent. Victims of revenge porn and harassment can sue for criminal and civil damages in federal and state courts.
The ruling highlights online privacy, personal limits, and legal accountability in the digital age and illustrates that cyber harassment perpetrators can be financially punished.
