St Kilda vice president Ross Levin says the teenager who posted nude photos of players will be pursued for damages.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The teenage girl at the centre of the St Kilda nude-photo scandal has been banned from publishing or continuing to publish any other photos from footballer Sam Gilbert's computer.
Federal Court Justice Shane Marshall adjourned proceedings this morning until tomorrow afternoon to allow the 17-year-old an opportunity to be heard on the future direction of the case.
The girl, who is on holiday in Queensland with her parents, was not represented in court and did not attend.
But lawyers for Gilbert were unsuccessful today in their attempt to have the court order that the explicit photos be destroyed.
Justice Marshall said that if such an application was to be made, the girl should be allowed to be part of the proceedings.
Counsel for Gilbert will serve notice of today’s proceedings and orders by email and on the girl’s Twitter account.
Justice Marshall ordered that the girl be prohibited from continuing to publish the photos referred to in Gilbert’s affidavit (those taken from his computer) or any other photograph or video or image taken from his computer.
He said he was satisfied there was a serious issue to be tried, but did not believe that damages would be an adequate remedy.
Outside court, St Kilda vice-president Ross Levin said the club did not believe that any of the other 19 photos that the girl has threatened to release were on Gilbert’s computer.
He said it was just the beginning of a vigorous legal campaign against the girl and added that the players intend suing for damages.
‘‘When you get an order for damages, in the event we are successful in our claim, the order continues to be valid for up to 15 years,’’ he told reporters outside the court.‘‘In the event that she tries to make money out of this, the misery she has caused to these four undeserving players, then we’ll be looking for that money.’’
Mr Levin said if the girl disobeyed the judge’s orders, she could be held in contempt of court which carried serious penalties.
‘‘The woman clearly knew what she was doing when she published those photos,’’ he said.
‘‘We at the club, and all fair-minded people we would say in Australia, have been appalled at the delight that she has expressed in causing distress to these four players including, as I have said, some whom she has never met and who have never done anything to her.‘‘The woman has made it clear in her networking posts that basically she enjoys causing trouble for others.’’
Justice Marshall said a proposed order by Gilbert’s counsel, Will Houghton, QC, that the girl destroy the two photographs - of St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt and player Nick Dal Santo - and any copies she may retain in her possession was “fairly draconian”.
Mr Houghton said: "It appears that (the girl) is exhibiting some defiance to the orders of this court and whether that is because of her immature years or simply plain stupidity, I simply cannot say."
The judge adjourned discussion of the proposed order until tomorrow afternoon.
Counsel for Facebook told the court via telephone that it would not allow the photographs to be further distributed via its website.
Lawyer Matthew Lewis told the court that Facebook would co-operate with the order that the photographs not be further distributed and would shut down any account that shared the images.
Mr Houghton said the website had been co-operative with its case and Gilbert would be discontinuing proceedings against it.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Riewoldt are planning to sue several media outlets, including organisations in Tasmania, which published pictures of the Saints skipper naked.
The Age understands Riewoldt and his manager Ricky Nixon are broadening their scope for defamation proceedings.
Channel Seven was initially a target for legal action after it broadcast a pixelated version of the Riewoldt nude photo.
But it is believed any organisation that published the pictures will be the subject of a defamation claim.
Nixon and Riewoldt will meet this afternoon to discuss legal options.
This morning the teen tweeted that she was still in Queensland and there was ‘‘not a chance’’ she would be in Melbourne for today’s scheduled 10.30am court appearance.
‘‘It’ll be long over before I get there! X,’’ she wrote.
She also urged ‘‘all other women that have photos to email me, let’s rough things up today. x’’.
The teen is believed to be flying into Melbourne from the Gold Coast this afternoon, arriving at about 5.30pm.
Last night she tweeted that she should ‘‘probably get around to sorting through my 28,000 emails and find the court order one.. #cantbef--ked’’.
A short time later, she wrote: ‘‘Found it! Although, can’t download the court order on my phone.. If I don’t read it, it’s not legal, right? :P haha !’’
She also streamed a live video last night, apologising for a video rant she posted the previous night in which she announced how angry she was before unleashing a piercing scream.
‘‘I just want to apologise for looking like an idiot in the last video,’’ she said in the new video, which does not show her face.
‘‘I saw that it was on the news, the one where I’m screaming. It was pretty embarrassing and yeah, it won’t happen again. I do some pretty silly things sometimes but hopefully nothing like that will show up again that’s going to embarrass the hell out of me.’’
- with AAP