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Batavia Woman With 20 Online ID's Can't Be Sued, Illinois High Court Rules

A Batavia woman who created more than 20 bogus identities on the Internet to encourage an online relationship with a California woman can't be sued, in a ruling last week by the Illinois Supreme Court.

As reported in the Kane County Chronicle, Janna St. James-Priggie, of the 800 block of North Washington Avenue, cannot be sued by Paula Bonhomme of California for fraud. Bonhomme reportedly sent $10,000 worth of gifts to Priggie, whom she believed was a firefighter named Jesse Jubilee James.  

Priggie created her firefighter personality on an online community for the HBO cable TV series "Deadwood," including numerous other characters — all of them fake — to corroborate the elaborate hoax. And just like a script out of Hollywood, Priggie killed off her lead character, claiming he died of liver cancer, according to the Daily Herald

Illinois' high court ruled unanimously that because the relationship was personal instead of business, Priggie could not be sued.

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Justice Robert Thomas of Glen Ellyn who wrote the court's opinion, said, "To be sure, it was a personal relationship built wholly on one party's relentless deceit, but it was a purely personal relationship nonetheless."

The Chronicle reports Bonhomme was seeking $100,000 in punitive damages from Priggie for deceiving her in the online relationship that lasted 18-months.

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