The father of rugby player Paddy Jackson has been awarded £100,000 in libel damages for false claims he tried to pay off the complainant at the rugby star’s rape trial, a judge in Northern Ireland ruled on Tuesday.
Peter Jackson secured the judgment against reality TV personality Danielle Meagher over the lies she posted on social media.
Delivering judgment at the High Court in Belfast, Master Mark Harvey insisted there must be consequences for her “vile” allegations.
“There seems to be a sense in some quarters that there is an online cloak of invisibility leading people to type things on a keyboard they may never utter in person,” he said.
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“Such cowardly online bile causes real-life hurt and upset to other people and damages their reputation.
“The message needs to be out there that when someone posts baseless and libellous accusations online, the repercussions can be very serious.”
Mr Jackson (69) declared himself fully vindicated by the outcome in his 7½-year defamation battle.
“My family and I have suffered a constant barrage, and it’s still not too late for an apology for these false accusations,” he said.
He sued Ms Meagher, also known as Danielle Collins, over the bogus allegations published on Twitter, now rebranded as X, in April 2018.
Weeks previously former Ireland and Ulster rugby players Paddy Jackson (33), and Stuart Olding (32), had been unanimously acquitted of raping the same woman.
Both sportsmen denied any criminal wrongdoing throughout their high-profile trial in Belfast.
Judgment was previously obtained against Ms Meagher when she failed to enter an appearance in the case.
At a further hearing earlier this month Mr Jackson and his wife Gay said he has been left “crushed” by the fake claims he bribed a witness and attempted to bribe the complainant at their son’s trial.
The court heard he became so obsessed and paranoid that he suffered a stroke earlier this year while trawling the internet to check on Ms Meagher’s latest postings.
His loss of self-confidence since the tweets were published left him socially withdrawn and close to a recluse.
The retired sales manager described it as a pre-planned attack on his integrity.
Ms Meagher later denied knowing anything about the tweets, making baseless claims the account was operated by a talent agency.
Despite her non-appearance, Mr Jackson said he would have loved to meet her face to face for an explanation.
Ruling on the scale of damages, Master Harvey called the tweets a personal attack aimed at trashing someone’s reputation with false accusations of criminal dishonesty.
He said it was rare to encounter such extensive efforts to track down a defendant, including serving notice on addresses in the USA and enlisting a private security firm to try to locate her in Dublin.
The judge referred to her as a “Z-list” celebrity whose conduct had been reprehensible.
“She departed for America and has been awkward and difficult throughout this process ... she has simply brazened it out,” he said.
With no apology for retraction made, the level of payout must reflect vindication for Mr Jackson.
Awarding Mr Jackson £100,000 in damages plus legal costs, he recognised it may not be straightforward to recover compensation from someone living overseas.
Master Harvey added: “Even if this should prove to be a paper judgment, which would be a regrettable outcome, at the very least the plaintiff can say he brought his case, obtained judgment and he has been vindicated, which will hopefully avoid any repeat of such vile allegations.”
Mr Jackson’s solicitor, Kevin Winters, later confirmed plans to pursue Ms Meagher for the libel damages.
