THE former Orange High School schoolboy who was ordered to pay $105,000 for defaming a teacher on social media has revealed the incident left him "shaken" and depressed.
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Andrew Farley was found to have defamed senior teacher Christine Mickle in a series of Tweets and Facebook posts in November 2012.
In the first Twitter defamation battle in Australia to go to full trial, District Court judge Michael Elkaim ordered Mr Farley to pay Ms Mickle $85,000 in compensatory damages and a further $20,000 in aggravated damages.
Mr Farley, who had left school a year before he made the comments, told Newcastle radio station KOFM on Thursday he denied "any aspect of me being a troll, it was a one off, I was upset... I didn't react in a normal way that I normally would - I was highly emotional".
He said he "never meant to defame her - it was a discussion between four of my friends and it was never meant for a public broadcast... I'm sorry it did go to the extent that it did - I never meant for that."
Mr Farley, who was 20 at the time of the judgment, warned other social media users to be "really careful, just because you think you're talking to your friends doesn't mean you're safe''.
"This has really shaken me. I have been depressed I have been seeking help for my mental state, like I haven't been well at all, and it's all because of one comment on Facebook."
Mr Farley did not appear at the trial to defend the case.
He had previously objected to his privacy being invaded when lawyers for Ms Mickle sought access to his Facebook page.