Divorce
NH Woman Alleges Police Gave Sensitive Information to Husband During Divorce
Divorce, criminal conduct and ethics intersect in a recent New Hampshire court case. Onetta Bobbet of Rye, NH has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Portsmouth and two Portsmouth detectives. At the heart of the law suit are allegations that the two detectives improperly shared information on Bobbet’s phone with her ex-husband, with whom she was in the middle of a contentious divorce. She alleges that her ex-husband had close ties with the officers in question. After filing a credit card dispute with police, Bobbet herself was arrested on charges that were later dropped. In the course of the criminal investigation, which coincided with divorce proceedings, Bobbet’s phone was seized by police. Bobbet alleges that the policemen friendly with her ex-husband “funneled” sensitive information on her phone to him, to be used against her in the divorce. Bobbet alleges she was subject to malicious prosecution, abuse of process, intrusion of seclusion and public disclosure of private facts. Having filed a motion with the District Court in Portsmouth, the two officers are attempting to have the case dismissed. Lawyers for the city state, “The law does not, and should not, allow recovery in tort by all persons accused of crimes and not convicted.” To succeed on her claim, Bobbet would have to prove that she was arrested in the absence of probable cause and with malice. According to Bobbet, a text from a former boyfriend asking her to move to Atlanta was made known to her husband during the divorce, for which she alleges intrusion of seclusion. To succeed on this claim, she would have to show that an invasion occurred that went beyond “the limits of decency.” According to lawyers for Portsmouth and the two detectives, because the revelation of such a text would not “be offensive to persons of ordinary sensibilities,” there is no claim.