I apologize if I posted this in the wrong area. I am in desperate need of help!
I'll try to make this as short as possible.
I have been accused of harassing people online. I was banned from an online group because of these allegations and the lies are spreading around a small online community which deals with a rare disease. The ban on the one group was made public by the group owner with the reason that I was "grossly inappropriate" to many young women on the group. I tried contacting the group owner but my email address was blocked.
The owner has also started a campaign to get rid of me completely from this community who I have helped for many years. This campaign has led to my being banned from volunteering at an upcoming Patient Care Conference held by a very important non profit organization.
Friends in this community who know me personally and do not believe the allegations have written to this group owner for some proof. The owner provided them with emails which came from 2 of the supposed young women I harassed. The names are not recognized by anyone. The emails also claim I would "pop in" on group IM's these young ladies were having. This is impossible. You need to be invited into a group chat. There are several inconsistencies and we noticed a lot of the language was not typical of women that age. We also saw similarities in the language used by the group owner and these "harassed young ladies". We suspect the group owner made the whole thing up and created these emails to cover her story. We tried to trace the email addresses and could not get beyond the AOL server. I have been told I need to get a court order to find out the origins of the emails and to force the originator to answer to these allegations.
My problem is that I can't afford an attorney. Where do I begin getting this court order to trace the IP addresses on my own? BTW - I live in NY.
It's a tough situation because there wasn't really any monetary damage since I volunteer my services to this community. It's just my reputation I need to preserve. I would be willing to sue for the statute this type of crime allows but, I doubt I would pursue the collection of it since the person I suspect started these lies has a child with the disease mentioned. I just want to force this person to make a public apology and admit these were lies.
I know the paper trail I have would prove to the community my innocence but, without being allowed to post to the group my hands are tied. I thought of creating a Blog spot and detailing everything and then getting the word out about it but, that would just be more word against word nonsense and it would lead to more drama this community does not need. These people have enough to worry about while dealing with this disease. Besides, I really want this to be done through the legal system.
Thanks in advance for any tips that will lead me, a person who lives paycheck to paycheck, in the right direction.
I'll try to make this as short as possible.
I have been accused of harassing people online. I was banned from an online group because of these allegations and the lies are spreading around a small online community which deals with a rare disease. The ban on the one group was made public by the group owner with the reason that I was "grossly inappropriate" to many young women on the group. I tried contacting the group owner but my email address was blocked.
The owner has also started a campaign to get rid of me completely from this community who I have helped for many years. This campaign has led to my being banned from volunteering at an upcoming Patient Care Conference held by a very important non profit organization.
Friends in this community who know me personally and do not believe the allegations have written to this group owner for some proof. The owner provided them with emails which came from 2 of the supposed young women I harassed. The names are not recognized by anyone. The emails also claim I would "pop in" on group IM's these young ladies were having. This is impossible. You need to be invited into a group chat. There are several inconsistencies and we noticed a lot of the language was not typical of women that age. We also saw similarities in the language used by the group owner and these "harassed young ladies". We suspect the group owner made the whole thing up and created these emails to cover her story. We tried to trace the email addresses and could not get beyond the AOL server. I have been told I need to get a court order to find out the origins of the emails and to force the originator to answer to these allegations.
My problem is that I can't afford an attorney. Where do I begin getting this court order to trace the IP addresses on my own? BTW - I live in NY.
It's a tough situation because there wasn't really any monetary damage since I volunteer my services to this community. It's just my reputation I need to preserve. I would be willing to sue for the statute this type of crime allows but, I doubt I would pursue the collection of it since the person I suspect started these lies has a child with the disease mentioned. I just want to force this person to make a public apology and admit these were lies.
I know the paper trail I have would prove to the community my innocence but, without being allowed to post to the group my hands are tied. I thought of creating a Blog spot and detailing everything and then getting the word out about it but, that would just be more word against word nonsense and it would lead to more drama this community does not need. These people have enough to worry about while dealing with this disease. Besides, I really want this to be done through the legal system.
Thanks in advance for any tips that will lead me, a person who lives paycheck to paycheck, in the right direction.
