A Saskatchewan man has become the first person to be successfully sued in the province for “revenge porn,” when intimate images are shared without consent..A Saskatchewan woman, whose name cannot be released because of a publication ban, was awarded $160,000 in damages after her former partner, Daylan Heidel, shared intimate images online..Heidel plead guilty to sharing intimate images of the woman and several others without consent between January 2015 and July 2019 on several online porn sites..Not only did Heidel share the images, but he posted the woman’s name and personal details..Heidel encouraged other people online to share the images with other sites..One video received more than 1.5 million views and Heidel posted the images to at least 10 porn websites..Currently, Heidel is serving jail time on criminal charges related to sharing intimate images..The victim said the shared images were “highly invasive, degrading, and morally damaging” in her claim..In 2018, the Saskatchewan government changed the province’s privacy act to allow “revenge porn” victims to sue for compensation..Victims go through small claims court to seek financial damages..Sean Sinclair, the victim’s lawyer, 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,” said Sinclair..Sinclair said this is a warning to others there are “significant repercussions” for sharing intimate images, including jail time and financial compensation..“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,” said Sinclair..“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 the victim showed courage by pursuing the case against Heidel..“It’s very hard to speak about and certainly to speak about publicly. In a court hearing is very challenging. She’s been quite remarkable in how she’s approached this,” said Sinclair..Ron Piche, Heidel’s lawyer, told CBC news it is unlikely that Heidel will pay the $160,000 in damages as “you can’t squeeze blood out of a stone.”.“He certainly accepts responsibility, but at the same time he simply may seek his redress through bankruptcy court,” said Piche..It is possible to include civil lawsuit debts in bankruptcy.
