Following a Texas jury's decision, a woman identified only as DL in court records has been granted a remarkable $1.2 billion (£944 million) settlement after being determined a victim of revenge pornography.

This legal action arose from a harassment lawsuit filed by DL against her former partner in 2022.

The lawsuit contended that he shared intimate photos of her online with the intention of publicly humiliating her subsequent to their breakup. Attorneys representing DL consider this outcome to be a significant victory for those who have experienced "image-based sexual abuse."

Bradford Gilde, the lead trial attorney, conveyed that while the chances of recovering the full judgment are slim, the compensatory verdict serves to restore DL's reputation.

Originally requesting $100 million in damages, the legal team is hopeful that the substantial award will discourage others from engaging in such reprehensible behavior.

According to court documents, the woman and her ex-boyfriend commenced their relationship in 2016 and exchanged intimate photographs during their time together.

Following their separation in 2021, he stands accused of disseminating the images on social media platforms and adult websites without obtaining her consent.

Furthermore, he allegedly shared links to the photos through a publicly accessible Dropbox folder, sending them to her acquaintances and family members.

The defendant was also accused of having unauthorized access to her mobile phone, social media profiles, email, and even the camera system at her mother's residence, which he exploited to monitor her activities.

At one point, the defendant allegedly sent the woman a message: "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."

Lawyers for the woman claim her former boyfriend posted the pictures "to inflict a combination of psychological abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse".

He did not show up in court and did have an attorney to represent him, according to US media reports.

He was ordered to pay the woman $200m for past and future mental anguish, as well as $1bn in exemplary damages.

High settlements have been reached in US revenge p0** cases in the past. In 2018, a California woman was awarded $6.8m after her former partner shared explicit photographs of her on p0** sites.

DL told a Texas broadcaster that after receiving little assistance from local police she turned to a civil attorney.

In 2016, around 10 million Americans reported being victims of non-consensual - or revenge - porn. Many of them are women aged 18 to 29, according to a study at the time by the Data & Society Research Institute.

All US states, with the exception of Massachusetts and South Carolina, have anti-revenge p0** laws in place.

I love the judgement

Noted