A US-based entrepreneur has been awarded £110,000 in damages after being accused on social media of being responsible for multiple rapes.
The Claimant, Jack Aaronson, who works in the gay pornography industry and is also known as “Dominic Ford”, brought libel proceedings against Marcus Stones, also known as “Mickey Taylor”, over a series of publications on Twitter and YouTube. They were to the effect that the Claimant had raped a number of men and was therefore a serial rapist.
The trial of the claim took place in December 2022. In a judgment handed down today, Mr Justice Julian Knowles rejected Mr Stones’ defences of truth and publication on matter of public interest, and gave judgment for Mr Aaronson.
Assessing damages, which included an amount for aggravation, the Court noted that Mr Aaronson had been subjected to “a campaign of defamation of an extremely serious type which directly impacted upon many aspects of [his] life, including his reputation; his business; and his mental well-being”.
5RB’s Gervase de Wilde and Luke Browne acted for the Claimant, instructed by Filiz Kiani of Cohen Davis Solicitors.
