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Warning: This story contains details of intimate images distributed online without a person’s consent.
The B.C. provincial court has sentenced a 42-year-old man to five months in jail for posting 18 videos and 80 photographs to Pornhub without his ex-partner’s consent.
Judge Robin McQuillan’s ruling this month says the accused, whose name is covered by a publication ban, started dating the victim in 2020, and their “on and off relationship” lasted just over two years.
The ruling says the man made several videos of them having intercourse during their relationship, some with consent and others without, but the victim never consented to them being posted online.
The judge’s decision says the man “repeatedly” tried to contact the victim after they broke up for the last time, but she blocked his number.
In March 2023 he sent her a Pornhub profile page featuring her photograph and nickname, and admitted to posting the materials online.
The court ruling says the woman found the profile and immediately contacted police, who found the videos and photographs showed the victim as “clearly identifiable.” The material was taken down by Pornhub in November 2023 after being contacted by police.
McQuillan sentenced the man to five months in custody and 18 months probation, finding the “pre-meditated and revenge motivated nature of the acts” he committed placed it in a more “egregious category” than other cases.
The ruling says police found the man had created the Pornhub account in August 2022, and the videos had more than 10,000 views.
British Columbia is set to introduce a law that targets people who post intimate images online without consent. The new legislation will streamline the process to have the pictures taken down and give victims an avenue to claim compensation from a civil standpoint.
While most of the materials were uploaded between September and November 2022, some had been posted as late as March 2023.
The police investigation, the ruling says, also found that the man had set up the account with his banking information, suggesting he “might receive a payout” if the materials had reached a certain number of views.
In this case, the publication ban on the man’s name was ordered under a section of the Criminal Code to help protect the victim’s identity.
The daughter of a B.C. Conservative MLA is sharing her experience years after she says someone shared intimate images of her without her permission. Amelia Van Popta and her mother, Misty, have been calling for changes to B.C.’s laws. As Katie DeRosa reports, the government has agreed.
