Defamation via internet in MA

[Regularjoe2005]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

An anonmyous person wrote an email accusing me of raping children and other similar crimes of indecency. It was sent to my wife and a few friends of mine with the intent of destroying those relationships. A friend of one of my friends was shown the letter and reportedly called the police and filed a report.

A few days later, a different anon email showed up claiming that it was all a lie, that they just wanted to break up those relationships and not cause all kinds of problems, they retract all their claims of crimes.

The emails came from 2 different online email accounts (ie yahoo and hotmail), so I am not sure how/if finding the person who actually sent them is possible.

I have suspicions of who might have done this, but I dont have concrete proof.

Is there any legal recourse to this? This email is extremely defamatory and is wholly untrue. What about the phone call to the police? Should I contact the police myself and give them what information I have? If some of that information is being passed around by people that I know and I know they are actually talking/spreading it, is that actionable?

If I dont have legal recourse because I have no idea who sent the email, are there any legal means to gain that information from the online companies and ISP's involved?

Thanks

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

An anonmyous person wrote an email accusing me of raping children and other similar crimes of indecency. It was sent to my wife and a few friends of mine with the intent of destroying those relationships. A friend of one of my friends was shown the letter and reportedly called the police and filed a report.

A few days later, a different anon email showed up claiming that it was all a lie, that they just wanted to break up those relationships and not cause all kinds of problems, they retract all their claims of crimes.

The emails came from 2 different online email accounts (ie yahoo and hotmail), so I am not sure how/if finding the person who actually sent them is possible.

I have suspicions of who might have done this, but I dont have concrete proof.

Is there any legal recourse to this? This email is extremely defamatory and is wholly untrue. What about the phone call to the police? Should I contact the police myself and give them what information I have? If some of that information is being passed around by people that I know and I know they are actually talking/spreading it, is that actionable?

If I dont have legal recourse because I have no idea who sent the email, are there any legal means to gain that information from the online companies and ISP's involved?

Thanks

Q: Is there any legal recourse to this?

A: Yes; hire a lawyer (around $20K should do it) and invest three or four years of your life in a courtroom.


Q: What about the phone call to the police? Should I contact the police myself and give them what information I have?

A: Yes if you want to.


Q: If some of that information is being passed around by people that I know and I know they are actually talking/spreading it, is that actionable?

A: Yes; see the answer to the first question.


Q: If I dont have legal recourse because I have no idea who sent the email, are there any legal means to gain that information from the online companies and ISP's involved?

A: Yes, your lawyer can subpoena these records in to court.

 

[JETX]

Yes, your lawyer can subpoena these records in to court.

Add: Only AFTER you have filed what is called a 'John Doe' lawsuit.

 

[stephenk]

"A friend of one of my friends was shown the letter and reportedly called the police and filed a report."

How do you know that happened? Have the police contacted you? If no, then there is no need to call the police.