New Jersey woman whose friend’s boyfriend posted stolen intimate photos of her online gets $8.7 million payout
A New Jersey woman whose friend’s boyfriend stole intimate photos of her and posted them online has been awarded $8.7 million in damages.
The woman, described in the lawsuit only as “J.D.” was first introduced to Tyler J. Jones, 33, by her friend in mid-April 2022, who was dating him at the time.
According to a complaint, obtained by The Independent, in November 2022, Jones asked to borrow the woman’s phone and, “without her knowledge, located her intimate content, photographed it with his phone, and returned the phone.”
Once home, Jones, a carpenter from Philadelphia, posted the stolen intimate images online and “continued to do so on a near-nightly basis for more than a year,” the lawsuit stated. Jones continued this pattern of behavior – sending the images to himself via Airdrop.
Jones “routinely” uploaded images of the woman on online forum 4Chan, as well as identifying information including her name, workplace, and hobbies – allowing “countless” people to locate her.
Jones uploaded such intimate content online more than 100 times, the lawsuit claims.
In addition, Jones then began contacting the woman’s friends onlin,e asking if they would be interested in viewing intimate pictures of her.
“Defendant’s dissemination of Plaintiff’s intimate content was so prolific that Plaintiff will never be able to scrub the internet of her naked body,” the lawsuit stated, adding that Jones’ actions had caused her to suffer long term mental health problems, including being diagnosed with PTSD.
“Plaintiff’s life has been devastated by Defendant’s intrusion and callous disregard for her privacy. By blanketing the internet with Plaintiff’s intimate content, Defendant has sealed Plaintiff’s online footprint forever,” the suit stated.
“She will never again know a day where her body is hers and hers alone. Defendant stole her privacy and stole her autonomy.”
The lawsuit added that the woman was “just one of many women Jones had victimized in such a manner over the years.”
In 2013, Jones pleaded guilty to charges of invasion of privacy and disseminating child pornography after he secretly videotaped three females, including at least one minor, and uploaded the recordings onto pornographic websites.
Further investigation revealed that Jones had also been uploading images of women, including his ex-wife (then-current partner), a co-worker from 2016, his brother’s ex-girlfriend, his ex-wife’s friend, a co-worker’s wife, and a prior romantic partner along with his 2013 victims during the same period.
In an opinion on July 14, U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel acknowledged that: “Due to the nature of the internet, I find that it is reasonable – and unfortunately, expected – for plaintiff to worry that her intimate images will resurface.”
The judge described Jones’ actions as “clearly reprehensible,” adding “defendant disregarded plaintiff’s health and safety and acted with malice.”
The woman was granted damages totaling $8,737,644.64, including compensation for past and future medical expenses, loss of earnings, pain and suffering, attorneys fees and punitive damages.
Last week, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday charged Jones in an unrelated case of stealing images of five women and posting them online.
”This is another example of cruel and despicable behavior by a repeat offender who continues to weaponize modern technology to expose victims online,” Attorney General Sunday said. “This criminal conduct traumatizes victims by impacting their careers, personal relationships, and almost every other aspect of their lives.”
A judge in that case set his bail at $350,000.
