Eight plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against former Allegheny College Professor of English Kirk Nesset on Dec. 19, 2016. Although Nesset did not produce child pornography, the plaintiffs in the case are some of those who were in the files that Nesset was found guilty of sharing, receiving and possessing. Nesset was reported in an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint to have had 500,000 video and image files of child pornography on a shared drive.
All of the plaintiffs and survivors involved in the case are filed under pseudonyms, and are jointly represented by Carol Hepburn, of Seattle, Washington, and Katie Shipp, of New York City.
The suit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Erie, according to Shipp.
Shipp said an intent to inflict emotional pain and an invasion of privacy were also included in the suit.