Several women who are alleged victims in an AI deepfake investigation in Ottawa are pushing back against the Ottawa Police Service's description of its work as a trauma-informed investigation. The women say they felt dismissed by how the case was handled, and they are calling on police to provide more information about it.
One of them, a 34-year-old woman from Ottawa, is an alleged victim in a deepfake investigation that involved her real face placed into AI-generated scenes of rape and torture. She said being targeted in that way made her feel dirty, as though she had done something wrong, even though she had done nothing at all.
The woman said she first learned she was involved through an email sent to her work address, telling her she had been identified as the victim of a crime. She was later called in to the police station, where an investigator laid out 20 to 30 images of her. Her identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
CBC News has spoken with 14 women in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Nunavut who say their faces were taken from social media photos and manipulated. The case centers on Stephen Lowe, who is facing 79 charges, including harassment, uttering threats, and child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Some of the women said they were left angry and frustrated by the response. After the police service issued a release saying investigators had quickly launched a thorough, trauma-informed and victim-centered investigation, one woman questioned who exactly had informed them, saying she would really like to know what trauma-informed was meant to mean in her case. A 49-year-old woman said the officer who told her about the content was too casual, and that the approach was dismissive of the gravity and the level of violation.
The Ottawa Police Service said it takes these kinds of concerns seriously, noting that it has a victim support unit that works closely with frontline officers to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support and referrals to community resources. A representative said the victim is at the centerpiece of every investigative decision, that victims are kept informed of the next steps, and that a great deal of effort is put into preparation before approaching a particular victim.
For the women, that has not felt like enough. One said she wished someone had simply told her it was not her fault, and that a woman had been in the room with her when she was shown the material. She has also been trying to work out how to monitor the court proceedings, something she feels she has a right to do after her life was, in her words, forever changed.