BEAUMONT, Texas — Hunter Thomas Taylor, the webmaster of the now offline "revenge porn" website Texxxan.com, faced his accusers for the first time at a deposition in Orange County, Texas on Wednesday.
Three women plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Taylor filed last January said they all found nude or semi-nude photos of themselves on the site, along with personal information like addresses, social media profiles and detailed information.
The women further claimed that the photos in question were often texted to or taken by former boyfriends and some were taken without the women's knowledge.
According to the plaintiff’s lawyer, John S. Morgan, Taylor dodged most of the questions at the hearing responding with “I don’t know,” and also denied keeping records. Taylor maintained that he was nothing more than a facilitator of the site and simply let people post what they wanted.
But Morgan said that trying to assert First Amendment protections don't apply to Taylor and ISP GoDaddy.com [also named in the suit] because Texxxan's content — published without age verification or consent from the women in the photos — is illegal.
A state judge blocked the site from relaunching or sharing its content last April.
Despite his claim of innocence, Taylor reportedly took full responsibility for the site, exonerating his parents, Sandra and Kenneth, along with Austin Ray Ponthieu, also named in the suit.
Holly Toups, the plaintiff who initiated the lawsuit, told BeaumontEnterprise.com, "We were all pretty nervous — we didn't know what to expect. It was empowering to finally be face-to-face and know that he couldn't hide anymore."
As a result of the suit, the plaintiffs have gained national media notoriety including appearances on CNN. Eight of the 26 plaintiffs will reportedly be photographed for an upcoming spread in Cosmopolitan magazine.
The women have also launched ArmyofShe.com, a website detailing their experiences with revenge porn, in addiiton to meeting with state and local lawmakers.
"A lot of girls now are willing to share their stories," Toups said. "It's been progressively getting better for all of us, but I guess (Wednesday) we really felt like we took the power back and our lives are finally ours again."
