Toronto man first charged under new cyberbullying law

A Toronto man is the first person in the city, and possibly the country, to be charged under a new cyberbullying law that makes it a crime to share intimate images of someone without their consent.

The law, which took effect in March, was a response to the high-profile deaths of two teenage girls, Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons, who killed themselves after suffering harassment related to online images.

Toronto police say a man recorded video of another person while they engaged in an online chat, then posted the video — described as being “intimate” in nature — on a pornographic website.

Investigators said Friday they believe there may be other victims.

Steven Ly, 30, of Toronto was arrested May 5 and charged with “mak(ing) available an intimate image without consent.”

Police said it was the first time they had charged someone with that offence since Bill C-13, the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act, came into effect.

Meanwhile, police in Bridgewater, N.S., say the new law could come into play if investigators decide to proceed with charges in an investigation involving high school students.

Chief John Collyer said Friday police learned on May 12 that the principal of the Bridgewater Junior Senior High School had received complaints students were sharing “questionable images” on electronic devices, including cellphones and tablets, without consent of the people in the images.

He said police have seized numerous electronic devices and investigators are waiting for a judicial warrant before examining the images.

Charges under the new cyberbullying law are a possibility.

“Certainly (they) will be considered,” Collyer said. “We’ve checked around. We were looking around to see if there was a precedent and spoke to a number of specialized units. They weren’t aware of anything.”