Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) arrested twelve people accused of “non-consensual sharing of intimate content,” including child pornography.
“Multiple women in Thunder Bay had been having their images shared through groups in an online chat platform,” said police in a release.
After a lengthy cyber crime investigation, police identified a total of 117 alleged victims in Canada and in at least three other countries, said TBPS.
The twelve people accused face a total of 172 charges, said police. The majority of the charges laid were Distribution of Intimate Images Without Consent.
Seven of the accused face charges related to child pornography.
Almost one hundred of the total charges were laid on one singular 34-year-old accused, who also faces mischief, unauthorized use of a computer and identity fraud charges. A 38-year-old accused also faces luring and extortion charges.
The accused turned themselves into police and appeared in court Wednesday.
TBPS said its Cyber Crime Unit began investigating in 2023 after learning that images of local women were being shared without their consent on an online chat platform. The release did not specify what type of online chat platform.
TBPS said it is asking anyone with information that could help the investigation to contact them or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.
- Detective Constable Joel Manherz: (807) 684-1200 ext. 4115.
- Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477
Sharing intimate images without consent could lead to jail time
A change to the Criminal Code of Canada in 2015 made it a criminal offence to share sexually explicit images without the consent of the person in the photo.
This includes everyone who “knowingly publishes, distributes, transmits, sells, makes available or advertises an intimate image of a person knowing that the person depicted in the image did not give their consent,” according to section 162.1 of Canada’s criminal code.
If found guilty, the accused could face up to five years in prison.
According to Statistics Canada figures, reports of distributing intimate images without consent and related charges have increased since the law was passed by Parliament in 2015.
