A Facebook ‘joke’ accusing someone of being a paedophile has ended in the victim being awarded £10,000 in compensation.
Raymond Bryce was shocked when he logged on to Facebook one day to find a picture of himself superimposed on an image of child porn, tagged with his name. A caption read: ‘Ray, you like kids and you are gay so I bet you love this picture, Ha ha.’
The Facebook picture was posted by an old school friend of Bryce’s, Jeremiah Barber.
Bryce said that at least 800 people would have been able to see the pornographic image, although he removed it within 24 hours. The trainee lawyer was so upset and scared that people would believe he was a paedophile, he didn’t leave his house for several days.
Yesterday, Bryce was awarded £10,000 in libel damages in a High Court case although Barber has already admitted making and distributing an indecent image and carried out 150 hours community service.
The ex friends fell out after Bryce took Barber to court over £80 he owed him.
Bryce, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome said last night: “Justice has been served.
“I found the whole incident grotesque and disturbing and it is ridiculous that Jeremiah could ever have found such a thing amusing, as he claimed to have done.
“I was determined not to let him get away with it and that is why I have sought recourse through the courts.”
Experts say the £10,000 payout illustrates how careful you should be about what you post online.
Dr Ian Brown, from the Oxford Internet Institute, said: “This is worse in some ways than putting offensive posters on lamp posts because it’s going directly to your friends.”
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