Legal News

Judge Finds Woman in 'Orgy' Video Did Not Go 'Wild'

By Matthew Heller, Editor

A St. Louis judge has thrown out a jury verdict in an involuntary nudity case, finding that the evidence showed a woman did not consent to appearing topless in a ?Girls Gone Wild? video by dancing flirtatiously for the cameraman.

?It is clear from viewing the video that plaintiff was an unwilling participant in the exposure of her breasts and can be seen visibily mouthing 'no,'? Circuit Court Judge John J. Riley said in granting the woman's motion for a new trial. She sued Mantra Films, the makers of the ?Girls Gone Wild? videos, for misusing her likeness and invading her privacy.

Riley also noted in his ruling that Mantra ?did not produce any written or oral waiver by plaintiff in which she authorized the defendants to make use of her image in commercial film products or advertisements,? concluding that ?A finding of consent or waiver here is against the evidence.?

The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, was socializing with friends at a St. Louis bar in September 2005 when a ?Girls Gone Wild? crew asked her to bare her breasts. After she said ?no,? another woman grabbed the shoulder straps of her tank top and pulled them off her shoulders, causing the top to fall down and expose her breasts.

A jury returned a defense verdict in July, buying Mantra's argument that Doe consented to being filmed topless by being in the Rum Jungle bar and dancing for the cameraman. ?Through her actions, she gave implied consent,? the jury foreman said. ?She was really playing to the camera. She knew what she was doing.?

Mantra also said it was shielded from liability because it posted ?area notices? around the Rum Jungle informing patrons they were being filmed.

But Riley shredded what amounted to a ?blame the victim? defense, perhaps leaving Mantra with little choice but to settle the case rather than risk a retrial. Doe had been seeking at least $2.4 million in damages for post-traumatic stress and psychological injuries.

?The Court believes it is highly questionable whether a reasonable person reading the notices defendant contends were posted at the Rum Jungle would believe she was consenting, merely by dancing fully clothed, to the use of her image being spliced into and/or used for the promotion of pornographic material not filmed at the location,? the judge said.

?It is apparent to the Court,? he continued, ?that plaintiff did not voluntarily expose her breasts, and it would have been apparent to the person making use of the footage that she did not consent to such exposure.?

Doe appeared for about 20 seconds in the ?Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy? video. She argued in her new trial motion that Mantra's use of her image ?in a sexually explicit adult pornographic film goes above and beyond any alleged consent that the Defendants claimed they may have received from Plaintiff through her conduct on the night in question.?

A Mantra official identified the woman who pulled down Doe's top as Crystal McDaniel, who was working with the ?Girls Gone Wild? crew at the Rum Jungle.

By Matthew Heller
On Point

Full post as published by On Point News on November 08, 2010 (boomark / email).