Payout for woman who was trolled for
13 years by internet date she rejected
A FORMER marketing consultant who was harassed for 13 years by a man she once dated won damages yesterday over what is believed to be the longest- running case of internet trolling.
Lindsey Goldrick Dean, 48, met Paul Curran in October 2004 and had a fourmonth relationship with him.
But after she ended the relationship, Mr Curran set up a string of websites that were either named after Mrs Goldrick Dean or contained information about her, some of which was offensive, private or confidential, a court heard.
He was told to take down the sites but failed to do so – even setting up others – and bombarded Mrs Goldrick Dean with phone calls, emails and letters. He also created two Twitter accounts using her name.
Matters came to a head last August when Mrs Goldrick Dean, from Somerset, began legal proceedings against Mr Curran and his consultancy business, through which he had set up some of the websites, in the High Court.
The case reached court yesterday when her legal team went before a judge to announce a settlement.
Gervaise De Wilde, representing Mrs Goldrick Dean, Mr de Wilde told Mr Justice Nicol that Mr Curran had apologised and promised to pay damages and Mrs Goldrick Dean’s legal costs.
‘The defendants’ campaign against the claimant has caused her enormous anxiety, mental distress and embarrassment,’ he said. ‘It has adversely affected her health, her relationships with her family and friends, and damaged her professional career.’
The court heard that, as well as creat- ing the offending sites, Mr Curran, of Haywards Heath, West Sussex, contacted her family and friends about the material. He also used web-building skills to ensure the sites were prominent when her name was searched for online.
Mr de Wilde said his conduct amounted to ‘civil harassment, misuse of private information and breach of confidence’.
In a witness statement, Mr Curran said he did not accept all of the allegations against him, but that ‘the majority of them are not disputed’.
The defendant, who did not attend court yesterday, added: ‘I am ashamed of my past behaviour and disappointed by my lack of judgment over a period of time. I recognise that my actions have caused the claimant considerable upset.
‘I very much regret this and have given my assurances to the claimant that there will be no repetition of the conduct complained of.’
Mrs Goldrick Dean was awarded undisclosed damages. Her solicitor, Yair Cohen, said: ‘For nearly 13 years Paul Curran tortured his victim, mainly by using the internet.
‘He left her emotionally scarred and financially ruined. During those years Mrs Goldrick, like so many other women in her situation, couldn’t get meaningful help from the police despite the overwhelming evidence of her harassment. This has left her feeling even more vulnerable and helpless.’
He urged a review into how police forces handle these type of cases.
Mrs Goldrick Dean said: ‘Curran was watching me from afar. When I got married he produced references to the wedding on the websites he’d created.
‘He hijacked my ambition, my privacy, my energy, my confidence, my safety and my own voice – until today.
‘I’m just relived I can now finally draw a line under all this.’
‘Emotionally scarred’