A CLASSROOM assistant has secured a High Court injunction in Belfast over claims her former partner threatened to post a video on Facebook of them having sex.
She was granted a temporary order after a judge heard allegations that he also threatened to show footage to her employers and pupils. The case, believed to be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, was extended to cover the social networking giant. It prohibits the defendant from showing, publishing or distributing the video or uploading it to any website.
A judge in Belfast granted the legal protection after hearing the woman’s reputation and job were at risk.
Her lawyers claimed any clips could spread uncontrollably if they were allowed to be uploaded. Barrister Peter Girvan said: “If the defendant placed this video on Facebook now, it would probably take time for the administrators to pick up on it. Within that timeframe, all the material could go viral.”
The woman, who cannot be identified, was in a long-term relationship with the man she alleges is threatening her. Despite breaking up last year, they met and had sex again last month after meeting when she was drunk, the court heard.
Five days later she discovered he claimed to have recorded a 17- minute clip of this on his phone, according to her account.
She alleged he showed it to her sister’s boyfriend and planned to disclose it to her employers. It was claimed that he also threatened to sit outside the school where she worked and send footage to pupils via bluetooth.
The man further issued a threat to put clips on Facebook, she alleged. During an ex-parte injunction application, at which the defendant was not represented, Mr Girvan stressed his client had not consented to being filmed. The barrister, instructed by Hilary Carmichael Solicitors, told the court the allegations were referred to the PSNI, but said police had limited powers to intervene.
Although there was no suggestion of Facebook doing anything wrong, Mr Girvan pointed out that its policy was to stop any such material appearing on its site.
Granting the interim injunction, Mr Justice McLaughlin made clear that he was making no decision on the truth of the allegations.