UNSW student loses defamation case over Facebook post about his conduct
A 50-year-old UNSW student has lost a defamation case against a fellow alumnus over a Facebook post made at 2.25am in February 2025. Milton Kelly sued Andrew Perish over comments in a university student group alleging he had "chatted up 18-year-old girls" in the library and engaged in "creepy" behaviour; Kelly also unsuccessfully fought to keep his identity secret. Judge Wass found Kelly had failed to establish the fundamental elements needed to prove defamation, particularly that he had suffered actual harm to his reputation.
A prolific self-represented litigant with multiple defamation claims since 2020, Kelly struggled to provide evidence for his case. He did not swear an affidavit and could not demonstrate how many people had read the since-deleted Facebook post or whether readers would have identified him as the subject. The case exemplifies the "Streisand effect": Kelly's attempts to suppress the material through litigation have ironically resulted in the allegations being repeatedly published on the NSW courts' official database, achieving the opposite of his intended outcome.
- UNSW student loses defamation case over deleted Facebook post from February 2025.
- He failed to prove reputational harm or that readers identified him as subject.
- His litigation ironically publicised the allegations through official court records.
New here? Start with this
Defamation law allows people to sue when they believe false statements have damaged their reputation. A 50-year-old UNSW student named Milton Kelly pursued such a case against fellow alumnus Andrew Perish, who posted allegations on Facebook in February 2025. Kelly argued that Perish's comments about his behaviour towards young women in the library were false and had harmed his reputation.
To succeed in defamation, a person must prove that statements are false and that they have suffered genuine harm to their reputation. Kelly has brought multiple defamation cases since 2020, and in this instance he also attempted to keep his identity secret from public records. Both efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Paradoxically, Kelly's effort to suppress the allegations through the courts has had the opposite effect. The comments are now permanently recorded in the NSW courts' official database, far more widely accessible than the original Facebook post, which has since been deleted, would have been.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Mature-aged UNSW student accused of chatting up ‘barely legal’ girls scores catastrophic own-goal after suing over 2am Facebook post and sending desperate emails to keep his name secret”.