'Catfisher' called out

After a bitter breakup, Margot thought she would never have to deal with her ex-boyfriend again.

But, a Facebook message from a stranger sent it all flooding back to the surface – the fears, the hurt, the betrayal, the lies. It was like the past five years were erased and she was again the victim of a sick game. 

Margot and her ex dated for about a year. She was 17, he 19. Their breakup was painful, and elements of it were eventually brought before police in Vernon and Vancouver. 

Margot describes her ex as a pathological liar, narcissist, sociopath, and sexual predator.

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking," she says with a tremble in her voice. "I didn't know any better."

It all started to make sense one day when Margot discovered his secret life online. She claims she caught him catfishing women for explicit photos.

"He said it was a game he and his buddies did all throughout high school." 

At the time, there was no way for Margot to know how deeply she was involved in this deception.

She has since been contacted by several women who were themselves the victims of a catfishing hoax. 

The perpetrator — posing as a woman online — is a self-described filmmaker from Vernon, and Margot's ex-boyfriend, William Tims.

About a year after ending their relationship, Margot was contacted by a woman she didn't know. 

Rachel told her she had received explicit photos from a person who had been using Margot's name and profile on the dating site Plenty of Fish.

Rachel spent about two weeks exchanging messages by text and flirting with a person she thought was Margot.

When things didn't add up, Rachel called the phone number associated with the profile. It went to William Tims' voicemail.

She looked William up on Facebook, and through William's account found Margot.

"It was my worst fear realized when she told me," says Margot. "And then Rachel told me about the photos that I didn't know existed."

Margot says she felt betrayed and violated. The women provided police with statements and screenshots of the photos and messages. 

"He had intimate photos of me that I didn't know he had, and I didn't know he was taking," explains Margot. "I was 17 when all these were taken, and he had them, and he was sending them out online. He admitted that when (police) interviewed him." 

Margot was told police couldn't lay charges because her age in the photos could not be proven.

"I've gone five years not knowing what happened. Not having been told, and just wondering if this was ever going to come back and haunt me, and here we are." 

Rachel contacted Margot again recently to tell her a friend had discovered a Tinder profile from the Okanagan that was using Margot's name. But, this time, the pictures were of another woman.

"He is still sending out explicit photos of unidentified women," said Margot. "I managed to find the woman whose photos he was using and let her know what's going on."

When Margot reached Julie, she was unaware that her image was being used in a catfishing hoax. 

Through their conversation, the two women discovered that Julie did have a connection to William. The two had worked on a film together in 2016. Although they were not at all close, they were Facebook friends.

Julie also told Margot that in 2017, without her knowledge, her photos were being used on a fetish website.

Looking back, Julie now believes the two incidents are linked. 

"It was really uncomfortable," Julie recalls. "There were explicit videos and photos, not of me, but clearly this person was trying to act like it was me by using my Facebook photos and other women's videos and photos."

Julie contacted the website and the profile was taken down, but not before she took screenshots of everything that was posted.

While Margot and Julie were trying to figure out what to do, they were contacted by another woman who claimed she had been in contact with the user of the fake Julie/Margot Tinder profile. 

Emily said she had received text messages with nude photos from the person pretending to be Julie. 

From there, yet another woman came forward claiming to have been duped by the same account. All of the claims by the women lead back to one phone number, that of William Tims. 

"All over, women are coming forward about being violated one way or another," says Julie. "I do feel violated because somebody is pretending to be me using explicit photos and sending them out. And there are women that don't even know that their photos are being sent out."

A new case file has been opened by police, and the women have called out William publicly, prompting a written apology to some of his victims, but not all. In the apology, William states that he has an addiction and is seeking help. 

Castanet has confirmed that the phone number associated with the incidents reported in this story is registered to a William Tims. 

Castanet has called the number several times and left a voice message for William Tims asking for a comment.

Castanet has not heard back from William Tims.

The voice on the message service said: 

"Hi, you've reached the voicemail of William Tims. Sorry I'm not available to take your call at this moment. Leave your name, number and a short message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you very much, and have a great day."

The number has since been disconnected and is no longer in service.

Margot claims she can now prove she was 17 when the photos of her were taken, and that William did not have her consent.

 "I don't think it is the police's fault, it is just the way the law was at the time. The law hadn't caught up quick enough to the internet, " she said.

"I do think that it’s an important part of this story ... how the police have been handling it, and how the law doesn't really help victims in this kind of situation." 

In 2015 a cyberbullying act was introduced in Canada. Among other things, Bill C-13 aims to protect against the distribution of intimate images. 

The Cyberbullying Act states anyone "who knowingly publishes, distributes, transmits, sells, makes available or advertises an intimate image of a person knowing that the person depicted in the image did not give their consent" could face a term of five years in prison.

– The names of the women in this story have been changed to protect their identity.