Corner Brook judge says woman posted intimate photos online to humiliate victim

CORNER BROOK, N.L. — A Corner Brook woman who shared explicit photos of another woman online has been sent to prison for three months, to be served on weekends.

Felicia Borden 23, was convicted of distributing intimate photographs without consent after recently pleading guilty to the offence in provincial court.

Before sentencing her, Judge Wayne Gorman heard Borden had come into possession of a number of photographs of the woman, including some showing her engaging in sexual activity.

The victim’s name and any details that could identify her are subject a publication ban ordered to protect her identity.

Borden ended up posting the photos online without the woman’s consent.

The victim filed a victim impact statement in which she expressed being humiliated by the offence. She was also worried about how many people were able to view the images before they were removed from two social media accounts they had been posted on.

Borden has no prior convictions and, in a pre-sentence report prepared for the court, she indicated the offence was the biggest mistake of her life and one she immediately regretted doing.

Crown attorney Lori St. Croix suggested Borden be given between three and five months of house arrest, followed by a period of probation.

Trevor Murphy, who represented Borden in court, asked for a conditional discharge and probation.

Gorman rejected the idea of a discharge because of the seriousness of the offence. He said, while it might be in Borden’s best interests, a discharge would be contrary to the public interest.

Gorman said house arrest would also be inappropriate. Although he did not consider Borden to be a danger to the public, the judge said a conditional sentence would not reflect the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation.

“In imposing sentence for the offence of distributing intimate images, it is important to understand that this is a sexual offence,” Gorman said in his written decision on Borden’s case.

Gorman said Borden knew posting these images would humiliate the victim.

“This was not a mistake or an error in judgment,” he said. “This was a willful and purposeful act.”

While he sentenced her to serve 90 days, followed by two years of probation, Gorman said Borden’s personal circumstances are conducive to allowing her to serve he sentence intermittently.