An American YouTube star has been awarded damages in the UK's first civil case of 'revenge porn'.
Chrissy Chambers, a 26-year-old singer and comedian who runs a successful YouTube channel, was sexually assaulted while she was unconscious by her then-boyfriend in 2009.
The man, whose identity cannot be disclosed, posted videos of the assault to the internet. Ms Chambers didn't know about the assault until 2013, when she was made aware of the videos, which had been posted to dozens of different websites.
She tried to have them removed from the internet, but was unable to do so because her ex-boyfriend owned the copyright to the videos. Additionally, because her boyfriend uploaded the videos from his home in the UK, she would have to file a lawsuit there.
While England and Wales made the release of revenge porn a criminal offence in 2015, Ms Chambers was unable to pursue criminal charges against her ex-boyfriend because the law does not apply to historic cases.
She then raised more than $US36,000 ($NZ49,559) through a crowdfunding website to file a civil lawsuit to get copyright ownership of the videos, which would allow her to take them down.
On Wednesday (local time), the High Court in London awarded damages to Ms Chambers.
The accused has agreed to destroy all remaining images of Ms Chambers still in his possession and has given her the copyright to the videos of the assault. He will also pay an undisclosed amount to cover her legal costs.
Ms Chambers celebrated her win by proposing to her girlfriend, fellow YouTuber Bria Kam, on the steps of the High Court.
"To every victim of this insidious kind of attack, I am here to say you can fight back and win," said Ms Chambers after the case.
"You will heal and move on - and you will not have to take those steps alone."
Newshub.
