Woman Awarded $10K in Damages After Suing Former Teacher for Posting Nude Photos She Sent to Her Boyfriend

Kaitlyn Cannon alleged that a former high school teacher, Christopher Doyle, shared intimate photos of her on a porn website

A former New Jersey high school student prevailed in her lawsuit filed against her former math teacher over nude and semi-nude photos of her that were posted online without her consent.

Kaitlyn Cannon, a graduate of Wall High School, alleged that intimate images depicting her were shared on a pornographic website, according to an April 2019 complaint filed to Ocean County and later provided to PEOPLE by Cannon’s attorneys Daniel Szalkiewicz and Cali Madia.

Upon Cannon’s discovery in 2018 that those photos appeared on the Internet, she sought an attorney to have the images removed and find out who posted them on the site.

The images were taken down, per the complaint. It added that the website provided Cannon’s legal counsel with the IP address of the alleged poster.

The court filing said the alleged poster was Christopher Doyle, a former math teacher at Wall High School, after Cannon’s attorney subpoenaed Optimum Cable for identifying information about the account with the IP address.

According to the complaint, Cannon, now 29, never sent the images to Doyle or permitted him to share them online.

“Plaintiff experienced significant emotional distress when she learned that her intimate images had been uploaded online for the world to see; this only intensified when she learned that the individual responsible for her distress was a teacher at her high school and who has been and continues to be entrusted with the care of teenagers,” per the document.

Related: Family of Special-Ed Student Who Was Given Drugs, Sexually Assaulted by Teacher Sues School District

The lawsuit accused Doyle of violating a New Jersey statute that reads in part:  “An actor who, in violation of section 1 of P.L.2003, c.206 (C.2C:14-9), photographs, films, videotapes, records, or otherwise reproduces in any manner, the image of another person who is engaged in an act of sexual penetration or sexual contact, the exposed intimate parts of another person, or the undergarment-clad intimate parts of another person shall be liable to that person, who may bring a civil action in the Superior Court.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In an interview with NJ.com, Madia said they are uncertain how Doyle allegedly obtained the photos, adding that Cannon had texted the selfies to her then-boyfriend, whose phone was stolen. Madia also told the outlet that there is no reason to doubt the former boyfriend’s story that the phone was taken (he was not named in the lawsuit).

In testimony during the civil trial in Ocean County Superior Court on Aug. 16, Cannon said, as reported by Insider: "I was shocked and confused, hoping it wasn't real.”

She also said of Doyle in court: "I didn't think there would be someone in my life who would do this kind of thing. He's my former teacher. He's not someone who's supposed to see me that way."

Doyle testified during the civil trial that he did see the images of Cannon online but could not recall posting them on the website, NJ.com reported.

Recently, a jury found in favor of Cannon and awarded her $10,000 in damages. In their statement provided to PEOPLE Friday, Szalkiewicz and Madia wrote: “We applaud Kaitlyn for having the strength to pursue her case and are thankful that the jury sided with her. We’ve been consistently impressed by Kaitlyn’s resilience and advocacy throughout this litigation and her true devotion to helping those who have been similarly victimized.

“While we worry the amount the jury awarded Kaitlyn in damages isn’t enough to deter some people from committing similar acts in the future," the statement continued, "would-be perpetrators should know that a new federal law creates a presumed amount of $150,000 in liquidated damages.

Related: Former Teacher, Who Filmed OnlyFans Content in Her Classroom, Says Her Salary 'Did Not Pay Enough'

“I think this verdict should send a clear message: think before you share," they added. "It’s very simple, if you don’t have consent to share the pictures, don’t share them. The people in these photos are real people with real feelings, careers, families, and lives. And what you send into the world without their permission will follow them for the rest of their lives.”

Madia told NJ.com that Cannon is now a licensed social worker and “helping people who have been affected by non-consensual pornography.”

Doyle’s attorney said in court that his client resigned from Wall High School due to the allegations, per Insider. PEOPLE reached out to Doyle’s legal counsel for comment about the jury award.

In an interview with Insider, Cannon said that the case was about holding Doyle accountable: "These websites work by being organized by country, then state, and then town. He went to a page for young women in the town that he works in, and he was looking for naked photos. To me, that's so alarming. There could have been people who are still his students on these websites."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.