‘This decision will definitely set a precedent’; man awaits sentencing after texting intimate images of ex to her family

On March 30, 2019, the couple broke up but continued to exchange messages in the following weeks. On the night of April 12, both the accused and the complainant were out separately with friends, drinking.

“As the evening unfolded, the messages between the complainant and the accused became unfriendly,” Dube said.

At one point the accused became upset and by the next morning around 2 a.m. he texted 18 images to her as well as her parents. The images involved screenshots of explicit conversations the couple had, as well as a number of other personal photos she previously sent him.

“Of those images, six images were intimate images of the complainant,” Dube said, adding the victim’s face was clearly visible in at least two of those images.

In addition, the accused also texted a message:

“Everyone needs to know how [explicit word] you are, bye [explicit word].”

Victim Impact Statement

Prior to making her sentencing submissions, Dube read a pair of victim statements from the complainant. One was written at the time of the incident, and the other more recently.

According to the victim she was “scared,” “ashamed”, and “embarrassed” after seeing the images and knowing her parents saw them too. She said she considered suicide.

“I could not care if I lived or if I died,” she wrote.

While there is no evidence to suggest anyone beyond the complainant and her parents have seen the photos, and the suspect has said he deleted everything, the complainant expressed a fear over who else may have seen them, and claimed the incident caused her to quit her job.

A challenging case

The criminal charge falls under Sect. 162 of Canada’s Criminal Code. Prior to making her submission for a jail sentence of four to six months, Dube acknowledged the difficulty of the case, given there was no related written decisions in Saskatchewan to draw from and only a few examples in Canada.

That’s the reason why she asked Justice Zerr to provide a written decision. Outside the courthouse, Dube relayed to paNOW the importance of the decision.

“This decision will definitely set a precedent. At least in Saskatchewan we will finally have something to rely on,” she said.

Defence arguments

Peter A. Abrametz represented the accused and told the court his client’s belief that the complainant’s claims may have been a bit “inflated”. He alleged she was not as emotionally distressed as she presented, had soon after found a new job, and was involved a new relationship. The accused has no criminal record.

Recognizing his clients actions were “unwise”, “impulsive”, and done “while intoxicated”, Abrametz suggested a conditional discharge could still provide suitable deterrence and denunciation. This would mean that as long as he followed a number of conditions over a given period of time, he would not have a criminal record.

Among the conditions suggested are a donation to a charitable organization like the Métis Women’s Association or the women’s shelter. The defence also suggested a period of community service.

When given the opportunity to speak in court, the accused said he was “deeply sorry” for what he had done, and simply wanted to move on with his life.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place Jan. 8.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

‘This decision will definitely set a precedent’; man awaits sentencing after texting intimate images of ex to her family

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