A man from Yellowknife has received a 12-month jail term for sharing explicit videos of his ex-partner on social media without her consent. The 36-year-old individual was found guilty after a trial for distributing intimate images without consent, with the court opting not to disclose his identity to protect the victim.
In a sentencing decision issued on July 29 by N.W.T. Territorial Court judge Stephanie Whitecloud-Brass, it was determined that a community-based penalty was inadequate due to the severe breach of trust, high moral responsibility, and retaliatory nature of the offense. Apart from the prison term, the man will undergo 18 months of probation, 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 initially met on a dating app in May 2023, eventually transitioning into both a professional and romantic relationship. Despite prior agreements to record intimate videos, the victim had explicitly stated that no content featuring her face or identifying tattoos should be made public.
Nevertheless, two explicit videos were shared on the X platform in July 2024, just two days after the relationship ended. The court concluded that the man’s intention was retaliatory, intending to harm and shame his former partner following the breakup. These videos remained online for about 46 days before the victim became aware of them, with one video showing her face entirely exposed and the other revealing a distinctive tattoo.
When confronted, the man deleted the first video but only removed the second after direct contact from the victim. The court classified the offense, commonly known as “revenge porn,” as an act of intimate partner violence, breach of privacy, and a sexual crime.
Judge Whitecloud-Brass emphasized in the sentencing decision that due to the videos being shared on a public account with 285 followers, the potential spread was vast, making it impossible to determine if others had downloaded or redistributed the content. Despite the defense arguing for a non-custodial sentence with probation citing it as a first offense, the judge deemed a community-based penalty insufficient.
The victim expressed in a statement the severe emotional impact of the incident, detailing feelings of vulnerability, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. As part of his probation conditions, the convicted individual is banned from accessing social media platforms except for personal or business email use and is forbidden from contacting or approaching the victim.