A man from Yellowknife has received a 12-month jail sentence for sharing explicit videos of his ex-partner on social media without her permission. The 36-year-old individual was found guilty after a trial for distributing intimate images without consent. The offender’s identity is not disclosed to protect the victim’s anonymity.
In a written ruling on July 29, N.W.T. Territorial Court judge Stephanie Whitecloud-Brass decided against a community-based penalty due to the significant breach of trust, high moral culpability, and retaliatory nature of the offense. After serving his 12-month prison term, the man will be on probation for 18 months, perform 60 hours of community service, provide a DNA sample, and attend mandatory counseling sessions.
The court documents revealed that the man and the victim connected on a dating app in May 2023, leading to a relationship that combined work and romance. Although the victim had consented to recording intimate videos, she explicitly stated that any content revealing her face or identifiable tattoos should never be shared publicly.
Despite these clear boundaries, the man uploaded two explicit videos to his public account on the platform X in July 2024, shortly after the victim terminated their relationship. The court determined that his actions were motivated by retaliation, intending to harm and embarrass his former partner post-breakup. The videos remained online for about 46 days until the victim discovered them, with one video showing her face and the other featuring a recognizable tattoo.
When confronted, the man removed the first video but only deleted the second after direct contact from the victim. The crime, categorized as “revenge porn,” was deemed by the N.W.T. court as an act of intimate partner violence, breaching privacy and constituting a sexual offense.
Judge Whitecloud-Brass emphasized in the sentencing that given the videos’ exposure to 285 followers on an open account, the potential reach was vast, making it impossible to ascertain if others had downloaded or shared the content. Despite the defense’s plea for a non-custodial sentence with probation due to it being a first offense, the judge concluded that a community-based punishment was inadequate.
The victim’s impact statement highlighted the significant emotional distress caused by the incident, including feelings of vulnerability, anxiety, and insomnia. As part of his probation conditions, the convicted man is banned from using social media except for personal or business email purposes and is forbidden from contacting or approaching the victim.