BC man ordered to pay ex-girlfriend $3,000 for threatening to share nude photos

A BC man, who threatened to share nude photos of his ex-girlfriend with her colleagues, has been ordered to pay his ex $3,000.

The man said he never had any intention of sharing the photos and his words were a “spontaneous emotional outburst” after she refused to give some of his stuff back.

The details are laid out in a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal Oct. 13 decision, which said the unnamed couple made intimate photos and videos together before separating in 2025.

It appears the relationship was tumultuous and he cheated on her.

After they separated, he left a suitcase and some clothing at his ex’s home and she refused to give them back.

He then sent his ex the contact information for 13 of her colleagues, a move the Tribunal found was a subtle threat to share the intimate images with them.

She then sued him, arguing for $75,000 in damages at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal. 

In 2023, the online Tribunal created an avenue for BC residents to seek damages outside of criminal proceedings if someone had shared or threatened to share their intimate images. The maximum amount was $5,000 but increased to $75,000 earlier this year.

In the decision, he said he would never have shared the images and only said so because he was under significant emotional distress. He described it as a “spontaneous emotional outburst” during a desperate attempt to get his stuff back.

In his defence, he also pointed to his ex-partner’s pattern of behaviour.

“He says she has continued to contact his family members and his new partner, expose his private information, and bypass his privacy settings to access his WeChat posts,” the decision read. “He says when he returned to Canada in April 2026, (his ex) assaulted him at the airport and attempted to steal his phone.”

His ex vowed to “destroy” him through the Tribunal, he said.

In her defence, the ex-girlfriend said the airport incident happened when she tried to serve him papers and an altercation occurred. She admitted that the RCMP spoke to her about it.

She said she lost weight and became anxious.

However, the Tribunal ruled that a portion of her emotional distress was caused by the infidelity and the breakup itself, rather than the threat to share her intimate images.

While he highlighted the behaviour after the fact, the Tribunal said that scrutinizing a person’s post-incident conduct would be inconsistent with its purpose to protect victims from image-based harm. 

However, the Tribunal did put weight on her conduct in addressing how much compensation she should get.

The Tribunal noted she continued to attempt to contact him and his family afterwards, and threatened to ensure he would be unable to visit his children from a different relationship if he did not speak to her. 

“Overall, I find (his) conduct, and the resulting harm, on the lesser side of the spectrum of intimate image abuse. There was no image sharing, and the threat was a regrettable utterance made in the heat of an argument over (his) belongings,” the Tribunal said.

The Tribunal ruled his behaviour wasn’t “malicious, oppressive, or high-handed”, but found that any coercive threat that exerted control over a person’s intimate images was blameworthy.

The Tribunal ordered him to pay his ex $3,000 in compensation.