Before the Facebook post, former deputy principal Kenneth Rothe, 74, enjoyed his life running two small seaside motels with his wife and caring for his grandchildren.

Afterwards, Mr Rothe was the subject of a brutal bashing that left him hospitalised for six months and his family were so scared they moved interstate.

Now a NSW District Court judge has forced the man who wrote the defamatory Facebook post to pay $150,000 in damages.

In March 2014 electrician David Scott wrote the following post, asking people to spread the word.