News Corp. to Pay $952,000 to Hacked Pop Star

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) News Corp. (NWSA) agreed to pay 600,000 pounds ($952,000) to Charlotte Church, the U.K. pop star, and admitted its News of the World tabloid hacked her mobile-phone messages for “many years,” starting when she was 16 years old.

At a court hearing today in London, News Corp. lawyers said the company regularly harassed Church’s family, put them under surveillance, hacked the phone of her father and acquired details of her mother’s “complex medical history” and suicide attempt to write scoops about the Welsh singer, now 26.

“I would have learned nothing more from an actual trial, since it is clear that no one from News International was prepared to take the stand to explain their actions,” Church said in a statement referring to the company’s U.K. publishing unit. “In my opinion, they are not truly sorry, only sorry that they got caught.”

One of about 70 victims to sue News International, Church settled last week, days before the first civil trial over the scandal was to begin. The deal comes after a person familiar with the matter, who isn’t authorized to speak about the case, said Church’s agent in Los Angeles and publicist in New York have been identified as the first potential American victims of the tabloid’s hacking. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/news-corp-to-pay-951-000-to-u-k-pop-star-church-over-phone-hacking.html

[unhappycamper]

1. Good.

I hope Rupert is prosecuted in the US also.

[RevStPatrick]

2. The problem here is that Rupert was NOT prosecuted...

They settled out of court, so now there's no trial.
I wish more of these people who were hacked would chose to NOT settle like this, and have it go to court.