Senator: Mohit should sue over leaked images

OPPOSITION Senator Rishi Tripathi on Thursday urged anyone who is victim of the leaking of their private photos to sue the perpetrator as he supported Chaguanas mayor Vandana Mohit.

“By design, her confidence was breached in an attempt to reduce the public’s estimation of her, damage her reputation and downplay her ability to discharge duties as mayor of Chaguanas.”

Saying the matter was very unfortunate, he said as a fellow young professional, he knows her to be a hard worker and a professional.

Tripathi, an attorney, advised legal action.

“I urge persons who fall victim to this type of public attack to pursue legal action to prevent further damage and to make an example of persons who betray your trust and confidence.”

He said there is case law precedent for this type of action in the 2015 judgement of Therese Ho v Lendl Simmons, where an injunction and damages were sought in a similar case.

“It takes years to build a good name, and one act of betrayal to damage it, as such, we must be responsible but also fight hard to defend our reputation no matter the cost,” Tripathi concluded.

In the Therese Ho case, West Indies cricketer Simmons was ordered to pay $150,000 in damages for leaking photos and faced an injunction to stop any recurrence. High Court judge Frank Seepersad said his ruling was based on archaic laws, raising the question of whether revenge porn laws now need to be drafted.