Sask. court awards $160K in first civil 'revenge porn' case
A Saskatchewan woman has been awarded $160,000 after she successfully sued a former partner for sharing intimate images of her online.
The woman’s name cannot be released due to a publication ban. However, her former partner Daylan Heidel already pleaded guilty to sharing images of the woman, and other women without their consent between January 2015 and July 2019.
He was sentenced to jail time on criminal charges.
Heidel distributed images and videos of the plaintiff on pornographic websites such as Pornhub, actions which the victim called in her claim "highly invasive, degrading and morally damaging."
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 legislation intended to allow victims to seek reimbursement through small claims court.
Her lawyer in the case, Sean Sinclair, said this was the first successful case of its kind in the province.
“This appears to be the first decision that involves the non-consensual distribution of intimate images or videos like this where a person has been successfully sued for distributing materials online in this manner,” he told CTV News.
“This tells people that there are significant repercussions to acting in this manner that you can, first of all, be incarcerated for it. But in addition to that, also be sued for it. And for quite a lot of money, potentially. It is a serious offence. It has lasting implications for the victim,” Sinclair said.
“I think it also has a message for victims that the court systems have a means of potentially addressing these kinds of issues and will give victims a voice to address these matters. And hopefully, allow them some measure of redress even if it doesn't fix all the issues for them.”
Sinclair said his client demonstrated resilience and courage by bringing her case forward.
“It's very hard to speak about and certainly to speak about publicly, in a court hearing is very challenging,” he said. “She's been quite remarkable in how she's approached this.”
-with files from Saron Fanel
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.