"I GO ONLINE TO DESTROY YOU"

By Crystal Chan

UPSET that he was spurned by a married lecturer after a brief torrid affair, a tertiary student turned to the Internet to smear her reputation.

The year-long liaison, which took place more than 10 years ago, ended when the lecturer's husband learned about it.

Unlike the recent case when a 32-year-old teacher was jailed 10 months for having sex with an underage student, the lecturer did not break any law as her lover was not underage.

But the fallout was almost as devastating, resulting in two court actions over the years.

To try to salvage her marriage, the lecturer ended the affair.

But her husband still filed for divorce, citing adultery and naming the student as a co-respondent in the divorce papers.

The student's bitterness over the end of the affair was such that years later, he continued taking his revenge on her.

The student, who graduated here around 1996, felt that she had used him and then dumped him, alleging that she even filed a police report against him for harassment.

In one online forum posting, he wrote that many male students were attracted to the lecturer because of her striking looks. He claimed she was unhappy in her marriage and that they had sex in various places at the institution as well as her home. Sources [say]that the affair turned sour after it was uncovered by private investigators hired by the lecturer's husband. She ended the affair to try to save her marriage, but it was all in vain.

Then, as a fallout of the Internet smearing, the institution learned of the affair and asked the lecturer to leave three years ago. The institution also went all the way to the High Court to seek an injunction to prohibit the student from talking about the affair.

Lawyer Nicholas Cheong, who is not involved in the case, said the Internet postings probably affected the reputation of the institution and it had to do damage control.

He said: 'The institution has a name to protect, especially when it's known for certain courses. The last thing it would want is for people to remember it as a place where a lecturer had an affair with a student.

'Nothing sticks like bad news so the institution had to protect its image. Going to court was the only option as it no longer had the right to discipline the student.

'The institution didn't do anything wrong and the court probably agreed that its image shouldn't be tarnished. Otherwise, the injunction wouldn't be granted as everyone is entitled to freedom of expression.'

The student had gone as far as to post the lecturer's personal details and the serial number of her divorce proceedings in online forums and encouraged netizens to contact her. It also seemed that he had been watching the lecturer's movements, as he posted details of where she parked her car on campus and even the time she got home. He found out where the lecturer is now working and posted this information on the Internet too.

The student invited netizens to e-mail him if they wanted 'hard-copy evidence' of his affair, including documents related to her divorce.

Some netizens asked for the lecturer's photo, which the student offered to e-mail to individual requesters.

However, other netizens criticized the student for his vindictive actions.

(EOPC notes there is a difference between exposing a predator and revenge. We do not encourage or approve of the latter. Don't be confused when Cyberpaths use a story such as this to try to further smear their victims. Not the same thing at all!

Many of our cyberpaths say their victims are merely 'spurned' or 'scorned' but there is NO COMPARISON between an affair ending - as in this story - and the PREDATORY TACTICS of a Cyberpath and their terrorization of their victims for telling the truth.)

Mr Cheong said the lecturer could report the student to the police for harassment as he had posted her personal details on the Internet and urged others to question her about the liaison. He added that if the student continues to talk about the affair, he could be charged with contempt of court, which could result in a jail term and a fine.

The lecturer now teaches at another institution under a different name.

EXCERPTED FROM THIS ARTICLE

Examples of our Cyberpaths being vindictive after their exposure:

ONE

TWO


If you have your own example of your Cyberpath, Harasser or Predator being vindictive to you after you discovered the truth - please write us with your example.

Almost ALL of our exposed Cyberpaths have threated EOPC and their victims but stop when they realize a court case involving the victims would reveal the truth about their predatory actions and the veracity of the exposure.

Jury awards $11.3M over defamatory Internet posts

By Laura Parker, USA TODAY

A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman who posted messages on the Internet accusing her of being a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud."

Legal analysts say the Sept. 19 award by a jury in Broward County, Fla. - first reported Friday by the Daily Business Review - represents the largest such judgment over postings on an Internet blog or message board. Lyrissa Lidsky, a University of Florida law professor who specializes in free-speech issues, calls the award "astonishing."

Lidsky says the case could represent a coming trend in court fights over online messages because the woman who won the damage award, Sue Scheff of Weston, Fla., pursued the case even though she knew the defendant, Carey Bock of Mandeville, La., has no hope of paying such an award. Bock, who had to leave her home for several months because of Hurricane Katrina, couldn't afford an attorney and didn't show up for the trial.

"What's interesting about this case is that (Scheff) was so vested in being vindicated, she was willing to pay court costs," Lidsky says. "They knew before trial that the defendant couldn't pay, so what's the point in going to the jury?"

Scheff says she wanted to make a point to those who unfairly criticize others on the Internet. "I'm sure (Bock) doesn't have $1 million, let alone $11 million, but the message is strong and clear," Scheff says. "People are using the Internet to destroy people they don't like, and you can't do that."

The dispute between the two women arose after Bock asked Scheff for help in withdrawing Bock's twin sons from a boarding school in Costa Rica. Bock had disagreed with her ex-husband over how to deal with the boys' behavior problems. Against Bock's wishes, he had sent the boys to the boarding school.

Scheff, who operates a referral service called Parents Universal Resource Experts, says she referred Bock to a consultant who helped Bock retrieve her sons. Afterward, Bock became critical of Scheff and posted negative messages about her on the Internet site Fornits.com, where parents with children in boarding schools for troubled teens confer with one another.

In 2003, Scheff sued Bock for defamation. Bock hired a lawyer, but he left the case when she no longer could afford to pay him.

When Katrina hit in August 2005, Bock's house was flooded and she moved temporarily to Texas before returning to Louisiana last June. Court papers that Scheff and her attorney David H. Pollack mailed to Bock were returned to Pollack's office in Miami.

After Bock didn't offer a defense, a Broward Circuit Court judge found in favor of Scheff. A jury then heard Scheff's arguments about damages. Pollack did not seek a specific amount for the harm he says Scheff's business suffered.

"Even with no opposing counsel and no defendant there, $11 million is a huge amount," says Pollack, adding that Scheff is considering whether to try to collect any money from Bock. "The jury determined this was a significant enough issue. It's not just somebody's feelings are hurt; it's somebody's reputation is ruined."

Bock says that when she moved back to her repaired house over the summer, she knew the trial was approaching but did not know the date. She says she doesn't have the money to pay the judgment or hire a lawyer to appeal it. She adds that if the goal of Scheff's lawsuit was to stifle what Bock says online, it worked.

"I don't feel like I can express my opinions," Bock says. "Only one side of the story was told in court. Nobody heard my side."

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

thanks to BETH for this find!

Murder Suspect Cyberstalks Family

By Anthony Cormier

Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. is charged in the Escambia County slayings. His daughter, ex-wife and former in-laws live in Sarasota.

Once or twice a year, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. would call the Herkel residence in Sarasota and demand to see his daughter.

Usually, Rebecca Herkel would try to placate her former son-in-law, who is now a suspect in the killing of a Pensacola couple last week, explaining that he lost his parental rights and needed to go through the legal system if he wanted visits with the girl.

But in April, Gonzalez took a new route: MySpace, and with it a new level of intensity that eventually amounted to cyberstalking.

Months before he was charged in the murderous home invasion near Pensacola that has shocked the nation -- a crime that led to the slaying of a couple that raised numerous foster children -- Gonzalez started a Web page devoted to the Herkels, who live in northern Sarasota and run Bill's Mobile Home Repair.

Gonzalez used MySpace, the social networking site, to make wild claims about the Herkels, post intimate photographs of the family and write fabricated claims from local public figures that suggested he had a right, and their support, to be in his daughter's life.

Authorities arrested Gonzalez, 35, on Sunday in connection with the slayings of Byrd and Melanie Billings in rural Northwest Florida, who were known for giving generously to schools and adopting children with special needs.

Seven people have been charged in all. Authorities say the group meticulously planned the break-in, wore ninja-style clothing and shot the couple during what appeared to be a robbery.

The murders left the Herkels shaken, wondering whether Gonzalez -- a karate instructor who raised his own family of six boys in Gulf Breeze -- was stalking them through MySpace and whether his violent online outbursts could have led to something worse.

"I don't think I'm qualified to get into his psyche," said Rebecca Herkel, whose daughter married Gonzalez eight years ago and was divorced two years later. "But I know that he is a truly diabolical man, an evil man."

Photos and fabricated testimonials were posted on his MySpace page, appearing to come from Sarasotans such as former Mayor Lou Ann Palmer, and business people including real estate broker Charles Knowles and banker Veronica Brady.

Gonzalez married Katie Herkel while she was away at college in Pensacola, but it was a rocky marriage that ended in 2002, according to court records. Herkel's mother says Gonzalez was supposed to have supervised visits with their daughter, Bella, but he failed to pay child support and did not take required parenting classes.

After his ex-wife won sole custody and moved back to Sarasota, Gonzalez would call the Herkels every few months and lash out at his former in-laws.

But the calls stopped recently, and it appeared that Gonzalez had turned to MySpace to gather information on the family and seek others to take up his custody battle. On the site, he posted the Herkels' home phone number. He wrote about his ex-wife's sister, posting her name, her work phone number and an e-mail address of a supervisor.

About his daughter, Gonzalez claimed: "She was taken from me, against my will several years ago, and I miss her very much. I have made many numerous attempts to be a part of my daughter's life, but they have kept her from me.... for NO GOOD REASON!!!"

Rebecca Herkel says the family called local law enforcement officials but were told that nothing could be done. The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office says that it has no record of meeting with the Herkels about Gonzalez.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez was also making up messages from local business leaders and politicians. He apparently copied their photographs from Web sites and claimed they were his online "friends."

One of his targets was Palmer, the former mayor. Gonzalez fabricated a message from Palmer saying that she would e-mail a lawyer's name and phone number for help. "Please feel free to call my private line once you have spoken with him to let me know how things are looking," the message claimed.

Palmer, reached Tuesday, said her relatives were shocked and scared that her photograph had appeared on the MySpace page. "I don't even use MySpace," she said.

In the last few weeks, the messages took on a more ominous tone.

June 21: "BIG REWARD FOR ANY INCRIMINATING INFORMATION OR PHOTOS OF THESE PEOPLE"

July 6: "We are getting closer."

July 9: "Making a move for humanity."

Then, on Thursday, several men were captured on a home surveillance system breaking into the Billingses' home, according to authorities.

Officials in Escambia County claim it was a well-planned attack, that two teams entered the front and rear of the home and silently killed the couple. One of the other suspects is Gonzalez's father, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., who drove the getaway van, authorities said.

"When I saw the newscast last night, I just knew that he was the mastermind," Rebecca Herkel said. "I said, 'Oh, it's him. He is diabolical enough to do that.'"

Herkel said she has not been contacted by law enforcement in relation to the Pensacola killings, and said she has no reason to believe there is any connection between Gonzalez Jr.'s stalking of her family and the Billings murders.

ORIGINAL STORY HERE

Man Stabs Wife to Death Over Facebook Posting

A man has been jailed for life for stabbing his wife to death over a posting she made on the social networking site Facebook.

Wayne Forrester, 34, told police he was devastated that his wife Emma, also 34, had changed her online profile to "single" days after he had moved out.
The Old Bailey heard Forrester drove to her home in Croydon, south London, and attacked the mother-of-two.

He stabbed her with a kitchen knife and a meat cleaver on 18 February.

Forrester, who pleaded guilty to murder, was ordered to serve a minimum term of 14 years.

Judge Brian Barker, the Common Serjeant of London, told him:

"You committed a terrible act. There is no possible excuse or justification.

"This is a tragic killing and what you have done has caused untold anguish."

Forrester, an HGV driver, was drunk and high on cocaine when he attacked the mother of two in the early hours as she slept.

He beat her, tore out clumps of her hair, and repeatedly stabbed her in the head and neck.

Neighbours were woken up by her screams. They found him sitting outside the house covered in blood and called the police.

The court heard Forrester thought his wife, a payroll administrator, was having an affair and had threatened to kill her.

The couple, who had been together for 15 years, had a "volatile" marriage, jurors were told.

'Devastated and humiliated'
The day before the murder, he called her parents and complained about his wife's Facebook entry which he said "made her look like a fool", the court heard.

In a statement to police Forrester said:

"Emma and I had just split up. She forced me out.

"She then posted messages on an internet website telling everyone she had left me and was looking to meet other men.

"I loved Emma and felt totally devastated and humiliated about what she had done to me."

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Forrester's sister Liza Rothery said the murder had had a "devastating" impact on her and parents Frances and Robert.

Miss Rothery added: "What on earth could Emma have done to result in such a brutal, callous attack on a defenseless woman?"

ORIGINAL ARTICLE