Convicted child abuser seeks £100,000 over Facebook page

A convicted child abuser should be awarded up to £100,000 in damages for being featured on a Facebook page set up to monitor paedophiles in Northern Ireland, the High Court in Belfast has been told.

Counsel for the sex offender claimed the breach of his privacy was among the most severe cases in the UK.

A judge was also told he planned to split any payout between compensating his victims and giving money to his own family.

The man, who cannot be identified, has brought a potentially landmark lawsuit against Facebook and page operator Joe McCloskey.

He is claiming misuse of private information, harassment and breaches of the data protection act. An order to shut down the “Keeping our kids safe . . . ” page administrated by Mr McCloskey is also sought.

Proceedings were launched after the man’s photograph and details appeared on the social networking site last year.

He served a prison sentence for a string of gross indecency and indecent assault offences against a young girl and a teenage boy.

Mr McCloskey has told the court he has “named and shamed” 400 sex offenders through the page. He denies being responsible for a witchhunt or hate campaign.