A Norwin School Board member is suing a former school board president, claiming he used an alias on social media to post “decades-old” pictures of her “in a state of partial undress” in her home.
School board member Shawna Ilagan of North Huntingdon alleges in the three-count lawsuit that Brian Carlton of North Huntingdon posted the photos on the Norwin Community Forum Facebook page July 5 using the profile “Jessica Madison.”
Ilagan is seeking $90,000 in damages. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Westmoreland County Court. Ilagan is requesting a jury trial.
Carlton on Wednesday denied involvement.
“I didn’t post any photos of her,” Carlton told the Tribune-Review.
According to the lawsuit, Ilagan claims Carlton invaded her privacy by publicizing her private life, intentionally inflicted emotional distress and defamed her by creating memes that suggested Ilagan was involved in pornography.
Ilagan’s lawsuit alleges Carlton added images that included text — or memes — suggesting Ilagan “promotes pornography in the classroom and advocates for teaching children how to make money via sex work.” Because of the memes, people could be led to believe Ilagan has a history of working as a stripper or sex worker, the lawsuit claims.
Ilagan declined to comment when reached Wednesday.
In the lawsuit, Ilagan alleges Kristin Weisberg Pracht took the photos and gave them to Dana Williams of North Huntingdon, who then turned them over to Carlton. The lawsuit did not specify when the photos were taken.
Williams, who lost her bid for a seat on the school board in November’s election, said Wednesday she did not post photos of Ilagan on social media.
“I don’t know how they ended up there,” Williams said.
Williams said the photos were taken by Pracht, a college friend of Ilagan’s, at a party. Pracht could not be reached for comment.
Williams declined to comment when asked whether she shared the photos with Carlton.
Ilagan won a seat on the school board in November. At the same time, Carlton, who was school board president, lost his bid for reelection to a second term.
