PHILADELPHIA – A Pennsylvania appeals court has affirmed dismissal of cyberbullying claims made by Dog the Bounty Hunter and others against true-crime YouTubers who chronicled the disappearance of a Tennessee teenager.
The court on Sept. 23 dismissed the case against Stephanie Jo Trude and Jessica Lynn Seng, two online personalities who, in what is believed to be the first instance, used a recent state law protecting free speech to defeat a lawsuit.
Dog, real name Duane Chapman, and others sued the two in Delaware County in 2024 over podcasts on the disappearance of Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers, who was 15 years old when he went missing in Hendersonville, Tenn. His father Seth is one of the plaintiffs and claims content creators have a goal of "destroying the lives of anyone who dares to search for answers or help locate the missing teenager," who still hasn't been found.
Dog was part of the search for Rogers, and Trude was accused of interfering with the investigation and using GoFundMe campaigns to deceive the public.
Seng uses social media to twist Seth Rogers' words during interviews to make him seem insincere, the suit says. There are plenty of other accusations, like the two have labeled Seth Rogers a pedophile, in the lengthy complaint.
But Judge Kelly Eckel tossed those claims as protected public speech in 2025, citing an anti-SLAPP law passed the previous year. SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation, and the law offers defendants making free-speech arguments an early way to fight claims like defamation.
The Superior Court found plaintiffs waived their first five claims on appeal by not preserving them. Those plaintiffs also complained that Eckel did not hold an anti-SLAPP hearing before reaching her decision, but the Superior Court said they failed to show they were owed one under state law.
When considering whether the lawsuit was brought with the intention of silencing protected speech, Eckel had looked at one key text exchange between the parties.
Plaintiff Tony Mathis is the spokesperson for Seth Rogers. He texted Trude in June 2024 "Lol... I'm actually going to file a civil suit against you and make you pay to defend it. Don't even care if I win."
"(T)he Court concludes that the defendants' YouTube broadcasts/podcasts fall well within the freedom of speech protections afforded by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," Eckel wrote.
"Moreover, Defendants' speech on their YouTube broadcasts/podcasts can be fairly considered as relating to a matter of concern to the community (the search for a missing child) and/or are subjects of legitimate news interest..."
And the "behemoth" complaint was so "cumbersome" that it prevented the defendants from knowing exactly what was being alleged, Eckel wrote. And it referenced more than 50 exhibits that weren't even attached when it was filed.
"The repeated references to criminal conduct, criminal liability and the alleged involvement of the former attorney general of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania... suggests that it was the intent of at least some of the scriveners to scare the defendants into believing that there could be, or might be, criminal charges filed against them..." Ecker wrote.
Winners of anti-SLAPP motions are entitled to their legal costs, including attorneys fees, from the plaintiffs. Also possible are punitive damages, and both Seng and Trude filed motions for them while the plaintiffs appealed.
"Without a doubt, the actions of Plaintiffs are outrageous and brought with evil and malicious motive," Seng's motion says.
