A banking IT consultant is suing his ex-girlfriend for defamation after she shared a document about him with two of his other ex-girlfriends and called him a “sex addict”.
Greek Australian Constantine Arvanitis, 48, had admitted to being promiscuous but claims he doesn’t “fit into that category” as stated in the document shared by his ex, Selina Holder, and which was also shared by one of the other ex-girlfriends with his current fiancee’s sister.
The document alleged that “he was a prescription drug dealer, that he was mentally unstable, that he was a criminal, that he committed fraud against his then-employer” and also alleged he was a “sex addict”.
Lawyer Paul Hayes QC, acting on behalf of Mr Arvanitis, told the County Court of Victoria the imputations were “outrageous and appalling” and could not be proven, however Ms Holder will argue that the document was not defamatory as she said it contained the truth.
Mr Arvanitis wants Ms Holder to acknowledge that what she had written was false and consent to an order that she stop making defamatory statements as well as a payment of damages worth $5,000.
“This case can end today,” he said.
Ms Holder however spoke with her lawyer Barrie Goldsmith and winked at her legal team before her lawyer rejected the offer.
The other girlfriends who saw the document, including the one who shared it with his sister-in-law, have made retractions after being threatened with legal action.
Mr Hayes said that the document caused his client “great emotional distress” and he had suffered “humiliation and embarassment”, whereas his sister-in-law became estranged from him.
His fiancee Melanie Thornton sat beside him in court on Monday, however in the case, Mr Goldsmith will bring up four of Mr Thornton’s exes who Mr Goldsmith said will claim he lied to them, cheated on them and had them spend money on his apartment and holidays which he never paid back.
Ms Holder’s lawyer said that Mr Arvanitis was still sleeping with Ms Holder and sending her ‘I love you’ messages and emojis until 24 November while dating Ms Thornton and two other women who did not know about each other. He had met Ms Holder on a dating app in 2012, and ended the relationship in May 2015. And he met his current fiancee in early 2016.
The court heard that Mr Arvanitis had supplied other employees at his previous job at the ANZ Bank with Viagra, and had used the internal system at his work to research importing the drug, something for which he had got in trouble. He had been earning $170,000 per annum at this job.
Mr Hayes lawyer said Ms Holder’s legal team had not requested he be examined for sex addiction, and added that his client had gone to a meeting of Sex Addicts Anonymous but realised he “didn’t fit the category”.
“He’s been immature, he’s been foolish, and he certainly had his regrets. He’ll frankly admit that at times he’s been promiscuous,” his lawyer said.
“But what he isn’t, he is not a sex addict.”
Ms Holder’s lawyer said that she had at times been “extremely frightened”, however Mr Hayes alleged that it was Ms Holder who introduced physical violence into their relationships, adding that she was motivated by “malice” and an intent to “inflict maximum possible harm” tohis client’s reputation.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
This post was last modified on May 18, 2021 9:17 pm