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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A woman who filed a revenge porn suit against an adult film actor who allegedly distributed videos of the two of them in intimate moments after they ended their relationship in 2018 was awarded a default judgment of nearly $300,000 by a judge today.
The plaintiff is identified only as Jane Doe in her lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in October 2018 against Keith Darrell Hayes, also known as Nat Turnher, alleging distribution of private materials, intrusion into private affairs, public disclosure of private facts, false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.
Hayes did not answer the lawsuit or participate in the litigation, so Doe sought a default judgment. Judge Rupert Byrdsong awarded Doe just under $292,000 on Wednesday, consisting of damages of $230,000, attorney fees of $7,600, $50,000 in interest and $4,318 in costs.
Doe had sought at least $500,000.
In a sworn declaration submitted in support of the default judgment, Doe said she met Hayes on Tinder and that the two of them got together for the first time in October 2017. Between then and February 2018, the two occasionally met up and were engaged in consensual intimate relations, according to Doe.
Hayes used a small camera to record the intimate moments between the two, the plaintiff says.
“There was an explicit understanding between (Hayes) and I that the videos and images of our sexual activity would remain private,'' Doe says. “(Hayes) unequivocally agreed to keep any and all videos of our sexual activity private and to himself and not to distribute our private videos or view it to any person.''
Some of the recordings were made secretly and without the plaintiff's permission, according to the plaintiff, who says she learned in October 2018 that Hayes had posted private videos of their sexual activities online.
“The private videos ... clearly involve me and show me engaging in sexual activity with (Hayes)..., '' Doe says.
The plaintiff further says pornhub.com removed the videos within 24 hours after she called and demanded they be taken down right away.
Doe says she believes Hayes continues to distribute, post or upload videos of the two of them on pornographic websites such as pornhub and others, which she maintains has caused her emotional distress as well as “irreparable injury'' to her reputation.
“I am constantly worried about my family, friends and co-workers viewing these private sexual videos, which continue to negatively impact all aspects of my life in a crippling manner...,'' Doe says.
In a separate declaration, Doe's attorney, Farzad Seyfnia, said the suit and a summons were personally served on Hayes in October 2018.
“Defendant Keith Darrell Hayes failed to respond to the lawsuit and never filed a responsive pleading to the complaint,'' Seyfnia said.
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