Man gets jail for for sharing intimate images of woman

Matthew John Paugh pled guilty in court on Sept. 13

Distributing sexually explicit photos and videos of a former female romantic partner has resulted in jail time for a P.E.I. man.

Matthew John Paugh, 37, appeared in provincial court in Charlottetown on Sept. 13 and pleaded guilty to the charge of distributing intimate images without consent.

Crown attorney Molly Murphy told the court that on Jan. 6, the Queens District RCMP received a complaint that Paugh had distributed the intimate images between Nov. 27 and Jan. 3 in Charlottetown via Instagram.

Murphy explained that Paugh sent the images to the victim's father's girlfriend. Paugh also sent threatening messages, including blaming both the victim's father for breaking up the couple and the victim for him previously going to jail.

Paugh's criminal record includes an assault conviction in relation to the same victim, said Murphy.

Paugh also said that he was holding onto grudges and hoped the victim's father "dies in a fire soon," but added that a "fire is too good for him."

Another message from Paugh indicated that he also shared the intimate images with his friends, but Murphy said there was no evidence that he did so.

Paugh was arrested and charged with distributing intimate images on March 16. Paugh was also charged with uttering threats; however, those charges were stayed.

Legal-aid lawyer Justin Milne said his client told police that he erased the intimate images. Milne noted that the guilty p

lea spared the victim and others from going through a trial and shows that Paugh is remorseful.

The victim does not reside on P.E.I. It wasn't said in court how many images and videos Paugh distributed.

For the offence, Chief Judge Jeff Lantz accepted a joint recommendation from Murphy and Milne and sentenced Paugh to four months in jail and one year of probation.