Tyrone May faces potential big payout after sex tape victim launches legal action

Penrith’s Tyrone May has been served with legal action by the woman whom he was found guilty of distributing illegal images of and faces a potential payout.

NRL player Tyrone May could be ordered to hand over a big payout to the woman at the centre of his 2018 sex tape scandal after she launched legal action against him.

A NSW Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed the victim had filed a statement of claim on Tuesday against the Penrith Panthers utility and the case is listed for a directions hearing on May 20.

May, 24, avoided being sent to prison last year after he pleaded guilty to four counts of internationally recording an intimate image without consent.

Penrith player Tyrone May is facing more legal action. Picture: AAP Image/Peter Rae

According to the statement of claim, May recorded intimate images of the woman on a phone without her consent in May, 2018, and was reckless as to whether she consented to the images being recorded.

The images were later published by May to other people and emerged on porn websites including PornHub and XVideos, the documents allege.

Brydens Lawyers senior associate Wes Ranson, whose firm is acting for the woman, told The Daily Telegraph she would be seeking financial compensation in court.

“It’s a claim for damages in defamation, a claim for damages in a breach of privacy and a claim for damages in personal injury,” he said.

“She’s seeking aggravated damages – in layman terms it’s essentially a higher degree of damages.”

The woman has claimed her distress has been exacerbated by her knowledge that the images have been placed on the porn sites where they can be viewed and downloaded by thousands of people.

Tyrone May in action for the Panthers. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

The documents allege May also failed to apologise to her when he was asked last year.

She now suffers from psychological injuries including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the documents.

A Panthers spokesman said the club had no comment.

May, who has played 37 games since debuting in 2017, was last year sentenced to a three-year good behaviour bond and ordered to do 300 hours of community service in Parramatta Local Court over the incident.

At sentencing, a judge described Tyrone May’s conduct as “reprehensible.” Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

“It’s reprehensible,” Magistrate Robyn Denes said when sentencing him.

“Not the conduct but Mr May’s conduct in filming it without consent.”

Ms Denes mentioned a video that had gone viral at the start of the Me Too movement that used making a cup of tea as an analogy for consent.

“It makes it really simple — if you don’t know they are going to consent, why would you assume they do consent?,“ she said.

“Do you just assume people want milk and sugar with their tea? No, you ask.”

Brydens Lawyers also represented NRL legend Mark Geyer’s daughter Montanna, who was awarded $125,000 in damages last December after an online meme page wrongly named her as being the woman in May’s sex tape.