YARROW POINT, Wash. – Shellee Hale, the defendant in a suit brought on by Too Much Media over alleged defamatory comments about the affiliate management software company, was so incensed by the pervasiveness of adult material on the Internet in 2007 that she took it upon herself to begin an antiporn campaign, according to court documents.
Hale, in the documents obtained by XBIZ, even launched a website called Pornafia.com purportedly to report information she obtained regarding technical and criminal activity and ultimately to chip away at the foundation of the online adult biz.
Hale said she developed the site “in reaction to the unprecedented levels of criminal activity now rampant within the global adult entertainment industry, which have until now gone largely unchecked, with the aim of providing a cost-free information resource for victims, potential victims, legitimate industry players and pertinent government agencies worldwide.”
That bold mission statement, which she made in a press release in 2007, was the last she would make relative to Pornafia.com.
Citing concerns for her personal safety, Pornafia.com was never fully launched and published no findings.
But, according to court filings, she continued on gathering intelligence on the industry.
“Hale attended several adult entertainment industry conventions and [created] the monikers Sexyteaser and Sexyteaserguys, which she used to interact on various adult industry websites,” including GFY.com and Oprano.com, the filing said.
Hale, who did not respond to numerous XBIZ emails seeking comment, apparently became enraged with the adult industry after she claimed she became a victim of the practice of “cyber flashing.”
Hale operates an online “life coach” consulting business at CoachShellee.com and Camandango.com. But, according to court documents, her site became hacked and webcam users would expose themselves naked on the site.
Last week, a New Jersey Superior Court judge said her message-board comments on Oprano.com were actionable without proof of monetary losses because her postings alleged that Too Much Media engaged in criminal conduct and that the company is incompetent.
Hale’s posts in 2007 alleged that breached Too Much Media data could have given hackers access to names and addresses of account holders, which the company denies. She also alleged that Too Much Media failed to inform customers of a security breach because it was making money off of it.
But a judge ruled last week that, despite her contention, Hale is not shielded by the state’s newsperson’s privilege and that her motion to protect sources of information is denied, paving the way for Too Much Media to sue her for defamation.
Too Much Media, in court papers, concede that they cannot put an actual dollar value on the damage done to its reputation. The New Jersey company famous for its NATS software plans to present multiple witnesses as “competent evidence concerning the injury.”
On Monday, John Albright, co-owner of Too Much Media, wouldn’t comment on the continuing case or Hale’s motivation against the adult biz.
“Unfortunately pending litigation against her prevents me from speaking about that,” he said.
The suit, which continues in Monmouth County in New Jersey, comes on the heels of another lawsuit waged over her posts.
That litigation, involving Montreal-based live-cam company 2Much Internet Services, recently ended in a confidential settlement before the case went to trial.