Website still posting nude photos of Pictou County women without their consent

Website still posting nude photos A website continues to post nude photos of Pictou County women without their consent. CTV's Dan MacIntosh reports.

Women in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County are again upset and concerned after a website featuring nude photos has started posting again.

The latest posting of the nude photos, without the women’s consent, appeared on the website overnight Friday.

Recent criminal code changes have made it illegal to share intimate images without consent.

There have been posts on the website warning whoever keeps posting the photos to "give it up," because the RCMP are tracking the website.

“It's very difficult. In these scenarios, quite often the websites are located in countries that we don't have legal agreements with. And a lot of times, it comes down to whether the website is actually cooperating with the police or not,” says Sgt. Royce MacRae of the RCMP Technological Crime Unit.

Sgt. MacRae says stopping the websites can be as difficult as shutting them down.

“Without a complainant, it's very difficult. There are so many of these sights that pop up on a regular basis, that until somebody actually notifies us that they're there, it's very difficult to move forward on them,” says Sgt. MacRae.

One of the photos is of a woman CTV News spoke with last month, who described her fear and embarrassment about the privately taken pictures, and the messages addressed to her on social media.

The site was taken down, but not for long, which health experts say takes a major toll on the victims.

“Going through this the first time is difficult enough, knowing that your photos are out there for everyone to see, and then fighting to get them taken down, which is re-traumatizing yourself again,” says Vania MacMillan, the director of the Pictou County Centre for Sexual Health. “And now, it's the whole thing all over again. Every time they go through this, the victims are re-traumatized.”

So far, no charges have been laid as a result of the investigation.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh