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Georgetown – Mesopotamia District, January 18, 2024 — In a historic ruling, the Magistrates Court awarded a woman XCD $6,100 in damages for trespass to land and unauthorized access to her phone, which led to the tampering of her social media accounts and the unauthorized acquisition of explicit photos. This groundbreaking case marked the first-ever cybercrime matter in the Georgetown – Mesopotamia district and resulted in the largest damages award for such breaches.

Represented by Lawyer Adrian Odle, the claimant’s identity remains confidential, as does that of the defendant, owing to the sensitive nature of the case. The defendant, despite having sufficient notice, failed to appear, prompting the case to proceed ex parte.

The incident unfolded on November 25, 2022, when the defendant trespassed onto the claimant’s property, reaching her bedroom window at midnight. After multiple requests to leave, the defendant agreed to depart only if a taxi was called. During this encounter, the defendant snatched the claimant’s phone and fled the scene, leading to a subsequent report to law enforcement.

With the phone left unlocked, the defendant accessed the claimant’s social media accounts, altering passwords and obtaining explicit photos from the device. Shockingly, the defendant messaged the claimant from her accounts, providing the new passwords and inadvertently revealing his identity through voice notes.

In court, Counsel Odle presented evidence in the form of extracted conversations between the two parties, highlighting the prevalence of people assuming there are no consequences to unauthorized device access and social media hacking.

Under the Cyber Crime Act, accessing and remaining in another person’s device is illegal. The Magistrate awarded XCD 6000 for the unauthorized access and XCD 100 in nominal damages for trespass to land.

The Cyber Crime Act, enacted in 2016, has been instrumental in addressing digital privacy violations. The defendant’s act of returning the phone to the police station revealed the tampering with accounts and deletion of explicit photos, reinforcing the severity of the breach.

This case follows the first-ever conviction under the Cyber Crime Act in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in February 2023, where a 23-year-old man was fined $1,000 for violating the privacy of an 18-year-old girl. In addition, the man faced fines under the Criminal Code for damaging the victim’s iPhone and laptop.

As cybercrimes continue to evolve, these legal precedents underscore the importance of upholding digital privacy laws and prosecuting offenders to protect individuals from unauthorized access and malicious activities in cyberspace.