The Sun pays damages to estate of revenge porn victim

News Group Newspapers Ltd (‘NGN’), the publishers of The Sun newspaper, have paid a five-figure sum in damages to the estate of a victim of revenge porn.

Susanne Hinte had 15 minutes of fame in 2016 following Camelot’s rejection of her £33m jackpot claim on the basis that she submitted a heavily damaged ticket, which she stated had been through the wash.  The press caught hold of the story and she was dubbed ‘Lotto Gran’.

Following this media storm, Ms Hinte’s former friend Julie Howard sold topless pictures of her to The Sun for £750.  She later admitted that she had obtained the photos after Ms Hinte borrowed her phone and they were inadvertently uploaded to the Cloud. Ms Howard stated she had sold the pictures with the intention of humiliating Ms Hinte.  The Sun published the pictures both online and in print on 3 April 2016.

In early 2017, Ms Howard was found guilty of disclosing private sexual images with the intent to cause distress and was fined and sentenced to a six-week suspended prison sentence.

Ms Hinte passed away following a heart attack in August 2017.

Following Ms Hinte’s death, her daughter, Natasha Douglas, pursued claims on behalf of the estate for misuse of private information, breach of confidence, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 against NGN.

In a press statement, Ms Douglas’ representatives described how the ‘unnecessary and distasteful’ publication of these images had caused Ms Hinte and her children ‘considerable embarrassment, upset and distress’ and that they were ‘subjected to relentless abuse, mockery and harassment, both in person and online.’

Whilst NGN did not admit any liability for any of the claims brought against them, a settlement was been reached with Ms Douglas on behalf of Ms Hinte’s estate.  This included a five-figure sum in damages, a statement in open court before HHJ Parkes QC (the first time such a statement had been made in respect of a deceased person’s privacy claim) and their assurance that that they would erase the images published, to the greatest extent possible.

A full copy of the statement in open court can be found here.

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