AI deepfake investigation by Ottawa police not trauma-informed, alleged victims say

< warm>WARNING: This story contains inside information of force and sexual development, including assault.

Multiple women who are alleged victims in a deepfake investigation involving their real faces in AI-generated scenes of rape and torture say the Ottawa Police Service is not leading a "trauma-informed" investigation, despite what the force says.

The women — whose identities are protected by a court-ordered publication ban — say they were angry and frustrated by an Ottawa Police Service news release issued on May 29 that said "investigators quickly launched a thorough, trauma-informed and victim-centred investigation" after a woman reported being depicted in harmful content online.

Stephen Lowe, 60, of Maitland, N.S., is facing 79 charges, including harassment, uttering threats, possessing and publishing obscene material and child sexual abuse and exploitation material. A second man, Gregry Peter Van Beek, of West Nipissing, Ont., has also been charged.

There are now more than 50 alleged victims. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Some of the women said they were shocked by the casual way police informed them about the graphic content, and felt dismissed and left in the dark with little information about the case.

The women also said they're lacking mental health resources and basic information about how to navigate the criminal justice system, which they expected to be provided by Ontario's Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP).

The Ottawa Police Service is the lead agency in the multijurisdictional investigation. In a statement, a spokesperson says the force takes these kinds of concerns seriously.

A 34-year-old Ottawa woman said she learned about the case — and that she was an alleged victim — when she got an email from Bashford through her work account on March 3.

The woman said she first thought the officer's email was spam or a phishing attempt.

She said she had just been getting out of a relationship, which she described as abusive, and wondered if his email might be related to that.

Alleged victim in AI deepfake case describes what trauma-informed means to her

The officer asked her to meet him at the police station, she said, where he started asking her about her social media accounts.

"I thought, you know, 'Did I do something wrong? Do I need a lawyer here?'"

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She said he spread out at least 20 images in which she was depicted in violent scenes.

She said she left feeling "dirty" and wishing she had information on how to keep herself safe.

"I wish someone had told me it wasn't my fault. I wish a woman had been in the room with me. I wish that I had been able to leave with a pamphlet or some resources on what these kinds of crimes are," she said.

She said she had to take time off work and is now taking medication for panic attacks.

Another Ottawa woman, 39, said she got a call from Bashford on March 2, telling her there had been content posted about her, but he wouldn't say anything else.

"I believe he had said that he wanted, they wanted, to have my reaction on camera when I came into the police station," she said.

If she had been told what she was going to see would be traumatic, she said, she'd have arranged to take the day off work and brought a support person, so she wouldn't have to drive.

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As for the 49-year-old woman, she said Bashford told her there was only one photo of her and that she was wearing a dress, but she later found dozens of deepfake images of herself online, where she was mostly naked, sometimes bound or gagged and often bloody.

She said she was also told there was no threat to her safety, as Lowe was in custody; she called that a "breathtaking failure" because the allegations include that Lowe was inviting other men to rape the women and, in some cases, sharing their locations.

"Trauma-informed, to me, suggests that consideration has been made to ensure that victims feel secure, feel safe, feel supported — and I definitely don't feel any of those things."

"They can reach the investigative team and we would be more than happy to hear their side of the story," he said.

Asked to describe what the force considers trauma-informed to mean, Labine said it means officers keep victims informed of every step, ensure they don't have to repeat their story multiple times, and allow them to disclose information at their own pace.

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In a statement, a spokesperson added that the Ottawa Police Service's Victim Support Unit works closely with front-line officers to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support and referrals to community resources.

The women further said there has not been enough communication from the Victim Witness Assistance Program, a provincial, court-based program intended to provide information and support to increase the understanding of, and participation in, the criminal court process. VWAP can also refer victims to other community-based programs for therapy.     

The 39-year-old woman said someone from VWAP left her a message on May 5, two months after she learned she was an alleged victim. She returned the call, but no one called her back. 

She said she's not upset with any individual, acknowledging there are more than 50 alleged victims in this case, but rather she's frustrated that these programs are not better funded.   

"This is going to become more common," she said. "And with this type of victimization, it's easy to have a vast number of victims. So how are we going to manage that moving forward?"

AI deepfakes of dozens of Canadian women in violent and sexual images shared online

It said that by 2027-2028, Ontario will have invested more than $500 million to help courts address backlogs and "manage a growing number of complex cases," including hiring nearly 700 additional Crown prosecutors, victim support and court staff. 

Women in Nova Scotia who say they are part of the case, but aren't yet named as victims in a court matter, say they have been contacted by the victim services' program in their province and offered up to three years of funded therapy. 

The 34-year-old Ottawa woman said she's also struggling to learn of court dates in the case in order to monitor proceedings. 

"I feel as if I have a right to," she said. "I'm directly impacted and this has changed my life forever."

Senior reporter

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