A man found guilty of secretly filming women in washrooms and posting naked photos of them to a Russian revenge porn site was sentenced to 15 months in jail at the Victoria courthouse Monday.
Between 2012 and 2014, Matthew Charles Schwabe, now 33, used a hidden camera in a Saanich grocery store bathroom where he worked to film female fellow employees, and at his residence where he filmed his female roommate undressing and using the washroom.
Schwabe then took still images from the videos, showing the women’s buttocks and genitals, and posted them to a Russian revenge porn website and forum page from 2015 to 2016, where he challenged viewers to identify the women. The nine victims ranged in age from 17 to 23 at the time their photos were posted. Their names are protected by a publication ban.
In victim impact statements presented to court on Sept. 1, many of the women said they have constant and severe anxiety due to the man’s crimes. One women fears she’ll be tracked down at her home or work by people who now know her full name and face. A victim said she fears she’s being watched even in private spaces and another woman said being filmed crosses her mind every time she uses the bathroom, even in her own home.
READ ALSO: Judge in Victoria to consider sentence for man who filmed women in bathroom, put images online
Crown argued these impacts as well as the well-planned nature of Schwabe’s crimes warranted an 18-month to two-year jail sentence. Defence pointed to Schwabe’s guilty plea, remorse and five years of clean conduct since the incidents as reasons for a lower sentence. It argued the focus should be on rehabilitation.
Schwabe faced six charges, including possession of child pornography, making or publishing and distributing child pornography, publication of intimate images without consent, secretly observing and recording nudity in a private place, committing an indecent act in a public place and theft of $5,000 or under.
On Nov. 22, he was sentenced to six months for voyeurism and nine months for publishing intimate images, to be served consecutively for a total of 15 months. This will be followed by two years of probation, with conditions banning Schwabe from contacting any of the victims or accessing the Internet.
READ ALSO: Two men sentenced to 6 years for fatal hammer attack on Langford friend
Do you have a story tip? Email: jane.skrypnek@blackpress.ca.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
