In this week’s episode of HJ Talks about Abuse, Danielle Vincent, Senior Associate in the Abuse team at Hugh James interviews Justin Levinson, counsel from 1 Crown Office Row on the recently published case of FGX v Gaunt.
Justin represented the Claimant in this matter who brought a civil claim against her ex-partner Mr Gaunt, after she discovered he had set up a secret camera in their bathroom and had filmed her without her knowledge. He had also taken photographs of her topless whilst she slept.
The images and videos were then put online with a clear photograph of her face, so she was identifiable. Her ex-partner received financial gain from this.
The Claimant discovered this, causing her significant distress which resulted in her suffering a psychiatric injury, impacting her everyday life including her employment, socialising, and future relationships.
The Claimant reported to the police and her ex-partner was subsequently charged. A criminal case took place, and the Defendant was prosecuted.
The Claimant then brought a civil claim for the following torts:
- Intentional infliction of injury
- Breach of privacy
- Misuse of confidential information
The Claimant received damages just short of £100,000 against the Defendant. Further Mr Gaunt will also be required to pay the costs of the case.
Already receiving lots of media attention, this is the first civil case of its nature. It is hoped that this outcome will raise awareness not just to individuals who have suffered such abuse of the potential of a civil claim, but to act as a deterrent to perpetrators.
In the podcast, we discuss the difficulties of removing images online requiring experts in technology to sweep such sites to remove them, concerns with children having technology so young how such abuse will impact younger generations and the responsibilities of websites that display such content considering the online safety bill.
