Ontario man gets 15 months in jail after photographing women at gym and submitting images to porn site

Michael Mikhail, 30, pleaded guilty to three counts of "surreptitiously making a visual recording of a person for a sexual purpose, in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy." 

The judge in the trial sentenced him to 15 months in jail.

Mikhail also admitted to recording multiple women who didn't know him or know that they were the subject of pictures and videos that were sent to Pornhub – the web's most popular porn site, based in Montreal.

He also secretly recorded his girlfriend having sex with him at his residence, The Hamilton Spectator reported.

Mikhail argued that he was not aware that he was doing anything wrong. But Justice Joe Fiorucci said that explanation didn't correspond to Mikhail's actions when he fled a GoodLife Fitness center in Hamilton, Ont. after being discovered filming. 

The Crown had asked for 18 months, while Mikhail's lawyer had petitioned for no jail time and a conditional discharge.

"Mr. Mikhail's case demonstrates how a cellphone with the capacity to photograph and video record others without their knowledge can become a weapon which causes devastating harm," Fiorucci wrote in his Oct. 4 reasoning, according to The Spectator. "The extent of the harm is immeasurable due to the permanence of the internet."

Mikhail also pleaded guilty to "knowingly distributing an intimate image of a former intimate partner without her consent."

The voyeur went by the handle of "Mikhail Rails" on Pornhub.

"He submitted countless videos of women to this pornographic site, with captions that included sexually derogatory comments," court documents attest.

The faces of the women are also clearly visible in the photos and videos.

Mikhail also put sexually explicit material of his girlfriend on Pornhub. She was informed of the imagery by a friend who saw the pictures on the pornographic site. 

The victim who reported Mikhail's activity caught him in the act as she bent over to use an exercise machine in late 2019.

"You used my body for your own personal gain against my will and without my knowledge," she wrote in her victim impact statement. "You exploited me on a pornographic website to thousands of people to use for your own and their own sexual satisfaction."

One of Mikhail's victims was only 17 when her breasts became the focus of a video.