Nova Scotia teen accused in sexting case secretly took photos of victim: court documents
Nude photos of teen taken without her knowledge, according to court documents
At least one Bridgewater, N.S., teen whose nude pictures were put online did not know the photos had been taken, according to court documents that spell out some of the allegations against six teenage boys accused of sharing intimate images of 20 local high school girls.
The six were charged following a yearlong investigation by Bridgewater police in response to complaints from school officials. Officers seized a number of electronic devices, mainly cellphones.
More details of the case are revealed in court documents, obtained Monday by CBC News, which successfully challenged a sealing order.
Two Dropbox accounts were created in the spring of 2015, according to information outlined by a police officer and used to obtain a warrant to search phones, SIM cards and tablets related to the case. Dropbox is a file-hosting service.
The first account had approximately 60 nude and suggestive photos, with five people accessing its contents, according to the documents.
A second account had most of the same images, with four people able to access it. Both accounts were deleted about a month before the principal of Bridgewater Junior Senior High School notified police in May 2015.
Girls didn't know photos were shared
Several female students said they had sent nude photos, but had no idea they were being shared. One teen learned a nude picture of herself changing was on the internet. She did not know it had been taken.
The photos were initially shared through texts and the social media site Snapchat, according to the court documents. In some cases, police say, the boys took and shared photos of themselves in order to get pictures in return.
One of the boys collected nude shots of girls as birthday gifts for himself, court documents say.
Some girls learned about the Dropbox accounts and later turned over their phones to school officials.
Police sought detailed records
The case is one of Canada's largest prosecutions involving the alleged sharing of intimate images without consent since a law creating the charge came into force in March 2015.
The six accused, including two 18-year-olds and four 15-year-olds, have not yet entered a plea. Their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, as they were all underage at the time.
They are facing charges of distributing intimate images without consent, and possessing and distributing child pornography. Trial dates have been scheduled for Sept. 5 to Sept. 8.
As part of the investigation, police sought access to text messages, incoming and outgoing calls, contact lists, computer data, and records including email, internet web pages, internet chat, pictures, video and other related electronic data.