A mother of two of central Trinidad has sued a businessman she had an extramarital affair with for allegedly sharing explicit photographs of her after their relationship ended.
Lawyers representing the 38-year-old woman, whose identity was withheld by this newspaper due to the nature of the case and the stage it is at, filed the breach of confidence lawsuit in December, last year.
In her court filings, obtained by Guardian Media, the woman claimed that she met the man in February 2020 when she went to his bar with a group of friends.
She claimed that they communicated extensively on social media before their relationship turned physical.
The woman admitted that during the romantic relationship, she sent him nude photographs of her on the understanding that he would use them for his use in private and not disclose them to anyone.
She also admitted that she took and allowed him to take explicit photographs and videos of them while they were involved in their frequent but clandestine sexual trysts.
She claimed that she eventually ended their relationship after he allegedly destroyed her car keys during an argument in November 2020.
She claimed that she met him the following month and he slapped her and destroyed her phone after she refused to give him a hug.
She alleged that in March 2021, he began sending the photographs to her friends and eventually to her husband, who up to that time was unaware of her secret relationship.
Her lawyers claimed that his alleged actions were aimed at causing their client harm, discomfort, embarrassment, and emotional distress. They also claimed that she was shunned and ostracised by family and friends.
Through the lawsuit, the woman is seeking an injunction barring the man from disseminating the photographs and videos as well as compensation. She is also seeking an order for the photographs to be destroyed or deleted.
In his defence filed late last month, the businessman admitted to the relationship but claimed that it had not ended at the time and in the manner claimed by her.
He attached hundreds of pages of transcripts of Whatsapp messages between them to prove his claim.
He also alleged that she took photographs of them together but he refrained from doing so.
His lawyer suggested that in late 2020 and early 2021 one of the woman’s male friends, who she began coming to the man’s bar with, showed him explicit photographs of her, which he (the friend) took while they were engaged in sexual activity.
He claimed that the friend, who he alleged was responsible for sharing the photographs, also threatened him.
The case was scheduled to come up for case management before High Court Judge Jacqueline Wilson today but it was rescheduled to April 3.
In 2015, cricketer Lendl Simmons was ordered by High Court Judge Frank Seepersad to pay $150,000 in compensation to a woman he was in a relationship with after he was found to have shared intimate photographs of her on a Whatsapp group.
