(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Privacy breach

‘This news of being exposed is gut wrenching’: victims respond to online privacy breach

Feb 10, 2025 | 4:00 PM

As the investigation proceeds into the online sharing of dozens of explicit photos, the Saskatchewan women who were victimized are speaking out and sharing their own stories.

Last week, Saskatchewan RCMP confirmed reports that intimate images of females were circulating on websites without their consent. Sources close to the privacy breach and who found the initial Discord server, informed paNOW the images are a combination of real ones that were sent in trust through social media while others, including minors, involve photo shopping or the use of AI.

For the purposes of keeping the victims anonymous, paNOW will be using fake names.

“Britney” told paNOW the images that were used had been taken from her Snapchat, and she is unsure who had access, adding it would be hard to narrow down since they were in there since March 2021.

“I first found out a few months ago there was a Discord from a guy I used to talk to, however he refused to give me any more information going forward about it. Then recently I got sent the server invite link from another woman who was searching for other women,” she explained.

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“As you can imagine it’s a very icky feeling. I have a history of suffering from depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder, so this news of being exposed is gut wrenching. I’ve made a lot of progress with my depression and anxiety over the years and I feel I’m back to square one.”

As for “Angela”, her photos were taken from her former OnlyFans account which has been deleted and out of use since September of 2023. She found out about the server through Facebook – a friend sent her the invite link.

“Nobody told me I was on there, I had to find out for myself,” she said.

As a result, Angela explained she has deleted all of her personal social media accounts.

“I don’t talk to anyone. I’m scared of everybody, especially any man I come across. I know the consequences of having an OnlyFans but never thought of this. I have children too and it’s just such a scary world to live in knowing this isn’t the first time these servers have happened. And how many more there are.”

Angela also explained for her, and any other OnlyFans girls, she can’t charge anybody criminally, even if she knows exactly who is responsible. Civil law court is an option but that takes time and doesn’t even promise justice.

“I had one cop I talked to compare me being leaked to a “movie” and that “once somebody sees it and likes it, everybody else will want to too,” Angela said.

“Abby” confirmed the images of her were ones she had taken years ago and sent to someone and they either used them and posted them or else sent them to their friends and others gained access.

“The impact that this is having on my life is not great. I have already had regrets from that time in my life, including when those photos were taken and the fact that it’s being brought up again, it’s hard and it feels like such an invasion of privacy that so much men have seen these intimate photos,” she said.

Abby also confirmed efforts to try to get these photos removed, reporting anything she found to the RCMP. She is however aware that it may be too late and her photos may be on someone’s phones.

“The situation feels like it’s out of our hands and it’s heartbreaking. Things like this can ruin people‘s livelihood. It can cost them their jobs, their schooling, their future. It can negatively affect their mental health in such a bad way that they might consider harming themselves or relapsing there’s just so many ways that this can negatively affect our lives, not only me but multiple other woman.”

“Rachel” was one of the first handful of women to find out about the Discord server and has informed quite a few women whose pictures and names were posted. A lot of women have since exposed the Discord server on Facebook and have in fact taken control of the initial server. Unfortunately another server was created in its place.

“Many of the girls who exposed the Discord and identified the men involved have been receiving threats,” she told paNOW. “There is a huge double standard here, many of the friends/families of the men who were involved with the Discord chat have been defending these predators because of “ruined reputation”, when there are actual women/girls who are victims.”

Rachel explained many of the intimate photos/videos shared within the server are of minors. There are also videos that were taken with hidden cameras and pictures/videos taken without women/girls knowledge.

“Many of the men within the server were contacting women/girls and offering them money for photos. Young girls who are still in high school were recently being harassed for intimate photos by fake accounts on different social media platforms, specifically by men who wanted to post the images in this Discord chat.”

Initial reports suggested the privacy breaches may have mainly impacted women in the northwest area of the province, however further information provided to paNOW suggests there may also be victims in the Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina areas.

When paNOW reached out to the Saskatoon police for comment, they replied they were not aware of any complaints/reports from possible victims in Saskatoon in relation to this case.

“We can confirm that the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Section is assisting with the investigation, although no youth victims have been confirmed, at this point.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Prince Albert Police Service confirmed receipt of reports.

“The Prince Albert Police Service is investigating and anyone with information is asked to contact police at 306-953-4222. Anonymous tips can also be provided to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. We encourage anyone who believes they may be a victim in relation to these incidents to call police.”

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Blue Sky: @nigelmaxwell.bsky.social