Lawyers agree to destroy AFL player photos

The teenage girl who posted lewd photos of St Kilda AFL players on the internet
appears to have stepped back from the confrontation she was promoting on the
internet, agreeing to surrender all the images she lifted from a computer.
The 17-year-old made her much-anticipated appearance in court in Melbourne on Friday
where she agreed through her lawyer the images would be deleted from her computer
and destroyed.
Justice Shane Marshall ordered both sides to engage in mediation before January 28.
St Kilda player Sam Gilbert initiated the legal action in the Federal Court on
Monday after the girl, who cannot be named, posted nude photos of St Kilda captain
Nick Riewoldt and teammate Nick Dal Santo on her Facebook page.
In repeated appearances on other social networking sites, the teen said she would
defy court orders and would publish more photos she claimed to have of other
players.
She failed to deliver on that threat.
The girl said she had taken her action in response to poor treatment she claimed to
have received from the AFL when she claimed last May to have been pregnant with
twins to a St Kilda player.
Documents before the court allege that last September she also approached Riewoldt's
agent, Ricky Nixon, offering to give him the photo of the player if he paid her
$20,000.
The girl claimed she had taken the photos herself, but Riewoldt said they had in
fact been taken by Gilbert during a trip to Miami 12 months ago and had then been
lifted without authority from his computer.
Her lawyer Tim Bourke told the court he had been engaged to represent her only two
hours before Friday's court appearance.
Outside the court, St Kilda vice-president Ross Levin said the club and the AFL had
sought a more straightforward resolution of the matter several months ago when they
learned the girl had approached the media with the photos.
"We pleaded with the woman for weeks not to release them," Mr Levin said.
"Obviously, an injunction would have been the quickest and most efficient way to go,
but we held off."
Mr Levin, who is also a lawyer, said the girl's parents, from whom she is now
estranged, had also urged her not to go public with the photos.
He said the girl had changed her mind once she became aware of the level of media
interest in the matter and had then sought legal representation.
"We are also pleased that the woman, through her lawyers, consented to the orders we
were seeking that she destroy all images alleged to have been taken from Sam
Gilbert's computer," he said.
The girl arrived in Melbourne from Queensland on Thursday night and is believed to
have had accommodation provided by football administrators.
The outcome of the mediation is to remain confidential.



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