SASKATOON -- After intimate images were shared online by an ex-lover without her consent, and in one instance viewed more than 1.5 million times, a Saskatchewan woman has filed a civil suit.
The woman's statement of claim was filed at Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon earlier this week. Her identity cannot be revealed due to a publication ban.
Earlier this month, 28-year-old Daylan Heidel pleaded guilty to distributing intimate images of the woman, along with three other victims, without their consent between January 2015 and July 2019.
He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, with time served. Heidel will spend another 13 months behind bars.
Heidel distributed images and videos of the plaintiff on pornographic websites such as Pornhub, actions which the victim calls in her claim "highly invasive, degrading and morally damaging."
According to the claim, Heidel published a "manifesto" with intimate images and videos of the plaintiff which generally promoted the redistribution of such images.
Between January 2015 and July 2019, Heidel also used a series of pseudonyms to post images and videos to pornographic websites, the claim says.
In 2018, the Saskatchewan government changed the province's privacy act to allow victims of "revenge porn," the act of sharing intimate images without consent, to sue for compensation.
The intent of the legislation was to allow victims to seek reimbursement through small claims court.
The government has said the change was to remove the onus from the victim and shift it to the person who shared the images, requiring the defendant to prove the plaintiff consented to the release of the images in question.
The woman's lawyer, Sean Sinclair, told CTV News he believes this is the first civil suit of its kind the province.
The claim does not specify a specific amount of money the woman is seeking in damages.
