Saskatchewan man serving jail time for posting revenge porn photos faces new charges

A Saskatchewan man who is already serving jail time for distributing intimate images of four women without their consent is now facing four additional charges: two charges relate to previous victims and two charges involve allegations from two other women.

If convicted on the new charges, Daylan Heidel's victim count would be six women.

The offence is often referred to as "revenge porn."

The Criminal Code defines an intimate image as being one in which the subject is nude, partially nude, or engaged in explicit sexual activity, made under circumstances that suggested "a reasonable expectation of privacy."

Police forces in Canada handled more than 5,000 complaints of people allegedly sharing intimate images or videos without consent since it became a crime to do so five years ago.

Heidel's prior crimes

In November 2019, Heidel received an 18-month jail sentence after pleading guilty in Saskatchewan provincial court to the distribution of intimate images of four women. CBC will not identify the victims.

The court heard that Heidel received intimate images from women that he was in a relationship with via text or messaging apps, such as Snapchat. Then, he would post those images on internet porn sites without their consent.

Some of the images included captions like "karma is a bitch." One image was viewed 1.5 million times. 

The new charges allege that Heidel, 28, distributed intimate images of two other women without their consent between March 2018 and July 2019, when Heidel was taken into custody. The charges also allege that Heidel posted other images of two prior victims while he was out on bail between March and July 2019.

Heidel is also charged with violating a bail condition from that same period to not possess or use any electronic device.

Alcohol problems 

At the sentencing hearing in November 2019, Heidel's victims described how they were still haunted by the violation of their privacy, personal safety and trust. They said they experienced humiliation, nightmares and physical and emotional trauma. One of his victims has since filed a civil suit, the first of its kind in the province.

Heidel sobbed in court and said, "I take full responsibility for my actions. By no means am I proud of what happened."

Heidel's lawyer, Ron Piché, told the court that his client committed the crimes when he was under the influence of alcohol and showed "very, very poor judgment."

In regards to these new charges, Piché said that just because the allegations relate to the same time frame as Heidel's past offences, it doesn't mean his client is guilty.

"Every case is different and we need to know what the particulars are here," Piché said.

Piché also said the timing of the new charges is unfortunate for two reasons.

First, the defense lawyer said Heidel is getting ready to be released from jail and has been making "tremendous progress" during addictions and personal counselling sessions inside Saskatoon correctional centre.

"Daylan has taken very seriously his programming. He has received excellent reviews and reports from his worker ... He has developed better insight in terms of empathy, in terms of not making decisions in conditions where he's under the influence of alcohol," Piché said. 

Second, Piché said he's worried that his client, if convicted on these new charges, would be forced to serve excessive time beyond the gravity of the offences, simply because the cases are surfacing over time and being considered separately by the court.

Heidel's next court hearing is July 13.