A grocery store on Vancouver Island has agreed to a $750,000 settlement in a voyeurism class-action lawsuit filed by women who were unknowingly recorded in the restroom by a former employee. The ex-employee then uploaded the footage to a Russian adult website.
The lawsuit was initiated by former store workers Jennifer Burke and Mallory Colter against Red Barn Market and Matthew Schwabe, the store’s former assistant manager who was convicted of voyeurism in 2021. The B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria issued a ruling on Dec. 8, instructing Schwabe to surrender all recordings of the victims and assigning them the “copyright worldwide” over the material.
The incident, which occurred in 2016 at the Saanich, B.C., market, led to a police investigation and Schwabe’s arrest in 2019. He later admitted to unlawfully recording and sharing images of multiple women. Schwabe received a 15-month prison sentence and two years of probation.
Red Barn at Mattick’s Ltd. has been directed to pay the settlement amount within two weeks. This sum comprises payments of $85,000 each to five women whose images were disseminated online, $25,000 to a woman whose images were not distributed, and an additional $15,000 to Burke and Colter as the lead plaintiffs. The remainder will cover legal costs, with a provision to reduce fees by $25,000 for each unidentified victim identified but not publicly exposed.
In a gesture of solidarity with other potential victims, the plaintiffs have pledged to donate a portion of their settlements to a charitable cause.