An Ocean County woman is warning people about the dangers of cyber exploitation after her former high school teacher shared explicit photographs of her without her consent.
Kaitlyn Cannon says she was shocked to find personal photos of herself circulating on a website dedicated to revenge pornography in 2018.
"The only person I sent these photos to was my ex-boyfriend, and there's no evidence of him sharing it with anybody else,’ she said.
After hiring lawyers, the website was subpoenaed, and the source was identified as her former high school math teacher Christopher Doyle.
"We did not communicate ever outside of school or outside events. We had no kind of relationship, so it was very shocking,” said Cannon.
Doyle resigned from Wall High School after the allegations went public. Cannon's lawyers also filed a civil suit against him claiming that he violated her right to privacy.
“New Jersey does have a statute that does not allow someone to disseminate your images without your consent,” said her lawyer Daniel Szalkiewicz.
Cannon ultimately received a $10,000 settlement from Doyle just days ago. News 12 received a statement from the law firm representing Doyle in the case, saying in part:
"While a jury found Mr. Doyle liable for republishing intimate photos based on an IP address, the jury also unanimously found that Mr. Doyle DID NOT intentionally inflict emotional distress upon the plaintiff."
They also added that the photos were previously posted on the internet before Doyle reposted them.
Cannon says she was hoping to keep Doyle out of the classroom and was shocked to learn that he is now teaching as a freshman math teacher at Perth Amboy High.
"To me, that is extremely unsettling. That is something I was wanting to prevent moving forward,” she said.
Cannon's lawyer says the district was able to hire Doyle because he resigned from Wall Schools and a formal complaint was never filed. News 12 reached out to the superintendents of Wall Perth Amboy schools and have yet to hear back.