The defendant in a “revenge porn” lawsuit has filed documents in court alleging two men may be responsible for sharing intimate images of a Brandon woman.
Terry Lynn Peters filed the action against the men. She’s the defendant in a lawsuit filed by Brittany Roque, a woman who alleges Peters distributed intimate images of her to the Brandon Police Service.
Roque had applied for a job as a police officer with the service. She is now a police officer in Rivers, Man.
“If any photos of Brittany Roque were in fact distributed, they were distributed by either Devon LeBlanc or Ryan Friesen,” says the third-party claim Peters filed in Court of Queen’s Bench in Brandon.
In court documents, Roque describes LeBlanc as “a close personal friend and the husband of another close personal friend.”
Friesen is a Brandon police officer. Roque says she sent intimate images of herself via text message to him during a brief romantic relationship in 2015.
Revenge porn is vile and disgusting and its suppression serves both the public interest and the public good.- Brittany Roque’s reply to Terry Lynn Peters’s statement of defence
Roque’s lawsuit alleges Peters, who had also been in a relationship with Friesen, gave the images to Brandon Police Service.
Roque alleges Peters did so out of “revenge and retaliation” against her for her brief intimate relationship with Friesen.
Peters denies the allegations, which have yet to be tested in court.
Roque filed the lawsuit last November, seeking financial damages from Peters, as well as a court injunction ordering anyone who has copies of the intimate images to destroy them and not distribute them further.
‘Baseless and spiteful allegations’
Now that Peters has filed a third-party claim in court alleging Friesen and LeBlanc had possession of the intimate images, she seeks to hold the two men responsible for any damages the court may award against her in the case.
Peters alleges “Friesen was at all relevant times in possession of the intimate images of Brittany Roque and consented to the viewing of these images by the defendant [Peters],” the third-party claim says.
It also says Devon LeBlanc “distributed these intimate images to other members of the Brandon police force, including Ryan Friesen.”
Through his lawyer, LeBlanc declined comment but indicated he will be filing his response in court.
Friesen declined to discuss the case with CBC News but said in an email that Devon LeBlanc had no involvement in the matter.
Documents newly filed in court by Roque also say LeBlanc was not involved.
“The defendant [Peters] is aware that Devon LeBlanc has nothing to do with the matters at issue in this proceeding but has maliciously made false allegations against him as a further act of revenge against the plaintiff,” says Roque’s reply to Peters’s statement of defence.
“The sole purpose of the third-party claim is to further harm the plaintiff by making baseless and spiteful allegations against Devon LeBlanc, a close personal friend and the husband of another close personal friend,” Roque alleges.
Text messages
Roque’s court documents also shed light on text messages she alleges she received from Peters in February and March 2017.
In support of the allegation that Peters distributed the images out of revenge, Roque alleges she received numerous text messages from Peters, including a message that she alleges read “You put them out there smart girl. Now they’re available for the whole world to see.”
Another message allegedly said, “You think this is funny? Soon, You won’t be laughing.”
Another said “Did you enjoy taking pictures of yourself and sending them to my husband?” according to Roque’s court documents.
“Revenge porn is vile and disgusting and its suppression serves both the public interest and the public good,” Roque’s latest court filing says.
A 2015 amendment to Canada’s Criminal Code made it a criminal offence to knowingly distribute an intimate image of a person, without the consent of the person depicted in the image.
In addition, Manitoba’s Intimate Image Protection Act enables someone to sue for financial compensation in cases of non-consensual distribution of sexual imagery.
Roque has waived her right under that Manitoba law to seek a publication ban on her identity.
Her lawsuit also seeks damages under Manitoba’s Privacy Act, arguing the alleged non-consensual distribution of the intimate images by Peters was a violation of privacy.
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