B.C. women allege washroom voyeurism in proposed class action

Women speak out on case of alleged voyeurism The women claim an employee at Red Barn Market in Saanich secretly recorded them in the washroom, then posted the photos online.

Two women have come forward as part of a proposed class action lawsuit alleging video voyeurism at the B.C. grocery store where they were once employed, after the images surfaced online.

Former cashiers Mallory Colter and Jennifer Burke allege a former assistant manager recorded them in the bathroom of the Red Barn Market at Mattick’s Farm in Saanich, B.C., between 2009 and 2014. They say they were alerted to the recordings when police informed them that someone had shared them on a Russian revenge pornography site, along with graphic descriptions and names taken from their Facebook pages.

“I was contacted by Saanich police because they had explicit photographs of me that they believed I did not know existed,” Burke told CTV Vancouver Island. “I was shocked and very violated.”

“It’s really traumatic and really scary when something like this happens,” Colter added.

The proposed lawsuit names Matthew Schwabe, ex-assistant manager and son of Red Barn’s former owner, as the individual who allegedly made the recordings. It claims Schwabe left work at the grocery store sometime between 2014 and 2016.

Red Barn, which is also named in the civil suit, acknowledges the lawsuit, but declined to comment due to privacy issues, saying it will respond in full at the appropriate time.

In addition to the voyeurism allegations, Colter and Burke claim Schwabe treated female staffers in a sexually charged manner, and that his conduct was ignored because his father owned the store.

“They created a situation where they allowed this to happen in their stores,” Burke said. “It was well known to management – there were several claims that he had a sexually charged attitude.”

Saanich police launched an investigation in early 2016 and found that at least nine women were allegedly filmed, the majority of them being Red Barn staff. The case remains outstanding and no charges have been laid.

Police say they have executed search warrants, obtained evidence and notified all known victims. An arrest was made in the case but police have not indicated who it was.

Colter and Burke say they came forward out of frustration over the delays.

“It could be dozens, it could be hundreds of people,” Colter said. “We just don’t know the magnitude of what was filmed.”

None of the allegations in the civil claim have been tested in court.

With files from CTV Vancouver Island