Victorian detectives wrongfully arrested an officer on child abuse allegations because they mistook an intimate photo of her ex-husband for a 10-year-old boy.
The woman, who can't be legally identified, was arrested on February 4, 2019, after police discovered the photo as part of their investigation into her former spouse.
He was later charged and convicted of child sexual offences.
The woman was brought to Victoria Police headquarters and questioned for just over 10 minutes where she explained the intimate photo was of her and her 32-year-old ex-husband, not a young boy.
The woman pointed out that the man was clearly wearing his wedding band in the old photo, he had a notable scar and he was hairless because he had shaved.
After keeping her detained for about four-and-a-half hours, detectives released her without charge and she was officially exonerated of any wrongdoing six months later.
The woman sued the State of Victoria in the County Court, claiming she was falsely imprisoned and suffered psychiatric injury.
She sought up to $90,000 in damages because of the shock and humiliation she experienced as a result of her arrest.
The Victoria Police headquarters was her workplace as she was, and still is, a police officer.
In her written judgment, Judge Julie Clayton found the detectives did not have a reasonable belief that the woman had committed an indictable offence.
"She was unlawfully arrested and, for the period of her detention, she was falsely imprisoned," the judge said.
"She is entitled to an award of damages that vindicates her reputation and compensates her for the harm caused by her loss of liberty."
The state submitted any damages awarded should be in the range of $7000 to $10,000.
But Judge Clayton said it was important the woman was vindicated because up until the judgment, there had been no acknowledgement the arrest and detention was unlawful.
The judge said $60,000 was appropriate compensation for the false imprisonment, with another $25,000 awarded in aggravated damages.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
