Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
National

N.S. Intimate-Image Case A Cautionary Tale For Young People, Prosecutor Says

The Canadian Press, 05 Oct, 2016 12:42 PM
  • N.S. Intimate-Image Case A Cautionary Tale For Young People, Prosecutor Says
BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — The high-profile trial of six Nova Scotia teens charged with sharing intimate images of at least 20 high school girls should serve as a cautionary tale for other young people, a prosecutor says.
 
Crown attorney Peter Dostal said it's hoped it will both encourage alleged victims to come forward to report similar cases, and show the consequences of sharing images without consent.
 
"What the hope would be is that the presence of these individuals going through court does make live the fact that these aren't consequence-less acts and that there are real victims who can suffer real harms," he said after a Bridgewater provincial court hearing Wednesday.
 
The case was put over to Oct. 19 to allow lawyers time to receive more of the disclosure, which includes thousands of pages of evidence from several electronic devices that were seized in the lengthy investigation.
 
Two 18-year-olds and four 15-year-olds are facing charges of distributing intimate images without consent and possessing and distributing child pornography. Their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
 
The lawyer for one teen says he hopes the case can proceed quickly to shield all of the young people from the fallout.
 
Alan Ferrier said the case has already been affecting the alleged victims and accused for more than a year, following a lengthy investigation into allegations that images of teen girls were circulated after allegedly being shared without their consent in a Dropbox account.
 
"You're talking about young people whose lives are in the balance," he said. "The consequences for young people in their lives is enormous, so it's been a long haul for them already."
 
The case is one of the first in Canada involving legislation introduced in late 2013 after the high-profile death of Nova Scotia teen Rehtaeh Parsons. The 17-year-old attempted suicide and was taken off life support after a digital photo of what her family says was a sexual assault was circulated among students at her school in Cole Harbour, N.S.
 
 
Dostal said that while the alleged offences may not be unique, the law used to prosecute the crime of distributing such images has given the legal system an updated tool to address the problem.
 
"I don't believe this conduct in and of itself is new," he said. "However, I think that it's only in recent years that we've begun catching up on investigative techniques and tools that get to the bottom of the any type of conduct that may delve into the criminal field."
 
Bridgewater Police Chief John Collyer said in July he couldn't speculate on what motivated the alleged sharing of the images, though he said police do not believe any money was involved.
 
"It's a fairly complex issue,'' he said. "There's a lot of different things taking place here ... I think it's fair to say that in some cases pressure was brought to bear.''
 
After complaints came in from school officials, investigators seized a number of electronic devices — mainly cellphones — and handed them to the RCMP Technological Crime Unit for analysis.
 
The Mounties found more photos, and a search warrant was drafted to obtain information from Dropbox, a U.S.-based file-sharing service, said Collyer. Using an international treaty, Canadian officials obtained the files through the FBI, but that took a considerable amount of time, the chief said.
 
Collyer is currently on administrative leave while investigators look into allegations of sexual assault and obstruction of justice. Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team, or SIRT, announced in August it was investigating information from an outside police force about the incidents. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Nano-Scale Canadian Flag Sets Guinness World Record

Nano-Scale Canadian Flag Sets Guinness World Record
Canadian scientists have a set a world record for creating a tiny national flag measuring about one-hundredth the width of a human hair, ahead of the country's 150th anniversary next year.

Nano-Scale Canadian Flag Sets Guinness World Record

B.C., Washington State Tout Tech Ties As Politicians Ready For Re-election Bids

B.C., Washington State Tout Tech Ties As Politicians Ready For Re-election Bids
The heads of British Columbia and Washington state say investing in an innovation corridor between the two jurisdictions will bolster state-of-the-art research efforts, which they predict will one day lead researchers to find a cure for cancer.

B.C., Washington State Tout Tech Ties As Politicians Ready For Re-election Bids

British Columbia Celebrates Six Paralympians' Medal Haul At Rio Games

British Columbia Celebrates Six Paralympians' Medal Haul At Rio Games
Christy Clark says the athletes who hauled in just over a quarter of the Paralympic medals make B.C. proud.

British Columbia Celebrates Six Paralympians' Medal Haul At Rio Games

Trudeau Tells UN Conference Canada Not Finished Helping Syrian Refugees

Trudeau Tells UN Conference Canada Not Finished Helping Syrian Refugees
Justin Trudeau is telling a UN conference that it's not enough to applaud what Canada has done to help Syrian refugees — because there's much more left to do.

Trudeau Tells UN Conference Canada Not Finished Helping Syrian Refugees

Tragically Hip Tour Raises More Than $1 Million For Brain Cancer Research In Canada

Tragically Hip Tour Raises More Than $1 Million For Brain Cancer Research In Canada
TORONTO — The Canadian Cancer Society and the Sunnybrook Foundation say the Tragically Hip's recent tour has raised more than $1 million for brain cancer research in Canada.

Tragically Hip Tour Raises More Than $1 Million For Brain Cancer Research In Canada

Woman Convicted In Death Of Stepdaughter Gets Life With No Parole For 16 Years

Woman Convicted In Death Of Stepdaughter Gets Life With No Parole For 16 Years
TORONTO — An Ontario woman convicted of second-degree murder in the death of her stepdaughter more than two decades ago has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance if parole for 16 years.

Woman Convicted In Death Of Stepdaughter Gets Life With No Parole For 16 Years