Man pleads guilty to posting 'revenge porn'

A Charlottetown man has pleaded guilty to posting an intimate image of an ex-girlfriend on a website where pornographic photos of women were traded like a "baseball card collection."

Brian Robert MacAdam, 27, appeared in Charlottetown provincial court Friday.

"It's a case of revenge porn," Crown prosecutor Lisa Goulden said outside the court room. "It's a kind of cyber-bullying."

According to an agreed statement of facts that was read into the court record, one of MacAdam's former girlfriends contacted Charlottetown police earlier this year, after she discovered a nude photo of herself posted online.

It had been posted to a website that allows users to post pornographic materials anonymously.

I lock my doors at night, I'm afraid to go out of my home ... I get messages from people I don't even know.— Unidentified victim

When interviewed by police, MacAdam told investigators he'd done it "for revenge because he wanted to hurt her."

Publication of an intimate image, without consent of the person in the photo, is a criminal offence.

During the investigation, police found MacAdam had posted intimate images of a number of other women from P.E.I. Police identified four females who had not given consent. Some of them did not know MacAdam and did not know how he obtained their photos

​MacAdam compared it to "showing off a baseball card collection," according to the agreed facts presented in court. Analysis of his computer revealed he posted 69 images to the website, 41 of which were deemed "intimate" under the criminal code. 

This has devastated me and my family. I want my freedom back.— Unidentified victim

Many of the images had the names of the women as part of the file's name, according to the agreed facts.

MacAdam also pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography. Court heard he posted five photos of a female who was 16 and 17 years old when the photos were taken. They included images of the teen performing oral sex on MacAdam.

One of the women read a victim impact statement in court Friday, describing the effect MacAdam's actions have had on her.

"I lock my doors at night, I'm afraid to go out of my home ... I get messages from people I don't even know," she told court. "This has devastated me and my family. I want my freedom back."

The identities of the victims are protected by a publication ban.

MacAdam also pleaded guilty to violating conditions of his release following his arrest. Court heard he attempted to contact some of his victims by phone and social media. 

Police contacted the operator of website where MacAdam posted the photos. The non-consensual images have been removed. The website remains in operation.

Police have charged one other Island man as a result of the investigation. Christopher Robert Delong, 27, of New Dominion, has pleaded not guilty to distribution of an intimate image and obstruction of justice. His trial is slated in P.E.I. Supreme Court in December.

MacAdam is being held in custody. The case is back in court Sept. 24 for a sentencing hearing. The mandatory minimum sentence for distribution of child pornography is one year in jail.

Sigrid Rolfe, coordinator, P.E.I. Rape and Sexual Assault Centre, says the damage from this type of crime is significant.

"It's a major breach of privacy but it's also a major betrayal. If you're in a relationship with someone that you trust and you share images with, and then to have that person humiliate you," she said.

"As well the long-term impacts for people can be, well the humiliation, the embarrassment, the shame and it's lifelong because those images are out there forever and there's nothing you can do."

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