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June 29, 2024 - 6:00 PM
A BC man, who found nude photos on a mutual friend's phone and then texted them to himself, has been ordered to pay $5,000.
According to a June 14 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Byron Sowinski was hanging out in a friend's apartment when he asked to borrow the victim's phone so he could stream music through the TV.
The victim, who had never met Sowinski before, handed over her phone to him.
However, while she wasn't looking Sowinski secretly accessed her iCloud account and found several nude photos as well as photos of the victim engaged in sexual acts.
Sowinski then texted them to himself.
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The decision said the victim didn't realize until later that day when she saw that the images had been sent to an unknown number.
She called the number and Sowinski answered.
The decision said Sowinski apologized to her but also said he would reciprocate by sending her intimate images of himself.
He also said she should take it as a "compliment" that he wanted the images and the photos could later be used in his "spank bank."
A couple of days later Sowinski became more aggressive and told the victim if he heard anything else about him "stealing" the photos he would "post your pictures all over social media."
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The victim then took Sowinski to the province's BC Civil Resolution Tribunal using the newly created legislation that specifically deals with the sharing of intimate images.
In the decision, the victim said her privacy had been violated and she had suffered from sadness and depression as a result of Sowinski's actions.
The Tribunal took little time to come to a decision.
"I find (Sowinski) flagrantly ignored the (victim's) right to personal privacy and autonomy in sharing her intimate images," the Tribunal ruled. "I further find their behaviour after the applicant discovered the sharing was egregious, both in their offers for reciprocal intimate images and their explanation for their use of the photos. Finally, I find (Sowinski's) behaviour in threatening to share the images further reprehensible."
The Tribunal then ordered Sowinski to pay the victim $5,000 in compensation.
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