Inquiry hears Manitoba judge may have known sooner about naked photos online

WINNIPEG – An inquiry into a Manitoba judge has been told she may have known about her naked photos on the Internet before a sexual harassment claim was made.

Lori Douglas is being investigated for allegations that she and her husband, Jack King, harassed a man named Alexander Chapman in 2003.

At the time, Douglas and King were lawyers at the same firm, and King was Chapman’s divorce lawyer.

King has said he uploaded nude photos of Douglas to a website and asked Chapman to have sex with her, but did so without her knowledge.

Another partner in the firm, Michael Sinclair, has testified that King told him Douglas might have known that some of the photos were online.

But Sinclair says he didn’t give that idea much weight, and he believed Douglas didn’t know anything about her husband’s actions.

“Jack was so uncertain about his statement that I didn’t give it any credence,” Sinclair told the inquiry Friday.

Sinclair also said Douglas appeared shocked when she did find out, and the law firm stood by her and never suggested she quit.

“She didn’t cause those photos to be published to the Internet. I didn’t think — and don’t think now — that we should blame the victim.”

The events occurred two years before Douglas was appointed a judge.

The inquiry is to examine next week whether Douglas disclosed the matter to the committee that screened her application.