A Richmond man has been sentenced to an eight-month conditional sentence for posting intimate photos of a woman on social media using a fake account he created in her name.
Tony Hirmuz, 22, appeared at Richmond Provincial Court on Wednesday to receive his sentence.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to posting intimate photos of a woman without her consent. An earlier charge of sexual assault was stayed by the Crown.
Judge Glenn Lee said in his decision that publishing intimate images online without someone’s consent, which could exist publicly in perpetuity, is “extremely harmful, vindictive and mean.”
“This is extremely traumatic for victims. Resulting consequences include the violation of trust, humiliation, objectification and exploitation of the victim, as well as the possibility of shame and loss of self-esteem.”
“The harm and damage done to a victim is very significant.”
Crown counsel Kristen Gagnon had told the court during the sentencing hearing that Hirmuz and the victim entered a “problematic and ill-defined relationship” after connecting online. (The victim's identity is protected by a publication ban.)
At one point during the relationship, Hirmuz told the victim he had taken photos of her while they had sex. The victim was unaware of it until then and Hirmuz later told her he had deleted the images.
Their relationship broke down after the two had an “angry” phone call that resulted in the victim blocking Hirmuz on all her social media platforms.
He then posted intimate photos of the victim on VSCO, a photography platform similar to Instagram. The account that posted the photos was created with the victim’s first and last name.
It was unclear whether Hirmuz had taken more photos of the victim when they had sex on other occasions, said Gagnon, but the photos showed the victim in at least two different sets of clothes and one even showed the side of her face.
Unlike "many other platforms," Gagnon added, VSCO does not have "privacy viewer settings" and any photos posted would become "immediately online for public viewing."
Hirmuz removed the victim's photos and renamed the VSCO account after the victim told him to take them down and threatened to call the police. In a subsequent communication between Hirmuz and the victim, Hirmuz called the victim misogynistic slurs and said, “All your photos were saved, ha ha ha ha ha."
He also sent the victim a private message on Instagram via a fake account attaching one of the intimate images with the message, "lol," and attempted to add the accounts of her female friends, Gagnon told the court.
Hirmuz later apologized for posting the intimate images and said he had done so to "provoke" the victim into contacting him so he could "get closure" after being blocked from contacting her on all platforms, said Gagnon.
Case calls for custodial sentence: Judge
Crown sought a jail sentence of three to five months and a 24-month probation which would require Hirmuz to complete counselling as directed.
The court was told that Hirmuz had prior charges related to a previous partner, which were resolved by Hirmuz taking a Respectful Relationships Program just months before Hirmuz met the victim.
Hirmuz’ lawyer, Eric Warren, told the court the sentence should not include jail time as Hirmuz no longer represented a danger and he would not learn “any lessons” in jail.
However, Warren did agree that counselling would be beneficial to Hirmuz.
Warren told the court that Hirmuz believed the photos were only up for five minutes and did not think anyone else had seen them.
"But we don't know that," said the judge, to which Warren acquiesced but added that "somebody would have to be wanting to look for something that he posted (to see the photos)."
He also said the victim had no problem with the photos when Hirmuz showed them to her “very shortly” after they were taken, which gave him the impression that “she was not concerned about that.”
The judge questioned why the photos had to be published on a public platform, noting that the photos of the victim were “very, very private" and said, “It must’ve been a nightmare for her.”
Warren told the judge that Hirmuz’ actions were similar to “if he had gone outside of (the victim’s) house and waved a flag or something because she wouldn't answer the phone.”
He also told the court that Hirmuz is a “person who is otherwise of good character” and he “underestimated a lot and made some poor judgments,” but his actions were not “vengeful.”
When the judge suggested “some people may argue that it’s vengeful just to put (the photos) up,” Warren acknowledged that "it can be," but said Hirmuz “put (the photos) up in order to get (the victim’s) attention.”
According to Warren, Hirmuz has already "learned a lot" just by being charged and being convicted of “a charge like this, it will deny him a lot of things.”
“He will be grouped with sexual assault predators… He doesn’t belong in that group, but he will be in some people’s minds forever grouped in that category,” said Warren, adding that a previous article by the Richmond News which reported on Hirmuz’ charges has impacted his reputation.
"I don't know that the average person realizes the actual impact of having an offence like this on their record. It's quite profound. It is a punishment in itself, sometimes well beyond what the court would impose," he said.
After considering the parties’ submissions and the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence, Judge Lee said the case called for a custodial sentence.
However, rather than going to jail, Lee decided a conditional sentence served in the community would be appropriate as Hirmuz had been on bail for “a considerable amount of time” and did not breach his conditions. He also does not have a previous criminal record.
Conditions for Hirmuz’s sentence include no contact with the victim, including on social media, and deleting all of the victim’s photos on his devices. He must also follow a curfew and he is also only allowed to use social media in his own name.
He was also given an 18-month probation and must pay a victim fine surcharge.
