Victims in Canada’s largest voyeurism case say hidden videos changed their lives, while some recordings remain online years after the crimes.
Victims say the fear did not end
For some women and girls on southern Vancouver Island, a hidden camera changed everything.
They were shopping, working, travelling or simply walking through public places. They did not know someone was secretly filming them.
Now, some say they feel watched even when no one is there.
One victim told CBC News that seeing her own recording left her feeling “hunted”. She said the crime did not end when the camera stopped.
That fear has stayed with many victims.
A case unlike any other in Canada
Yin Yeung Derek Chan secretly recorded hundreds of women and children across the Victoria area over several years.
Police say Chan filmed people in shops, malls, gyms, homes and other public places. In one case, a 15-year-old girl was filmed while she walked through a shopping centre with her family.
Court records show that 652 women and children were identified as victims in the case.
Chan was arrested in 2024. He was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
However, for many victims, the sentence did not bring an end to the pain.
Some recordings are still online. In addition, police have identified only part of the material linked to the case.
A delivery job gave him access
Chan had worked as an Uber Eats delivery driver.
According to the Crown, he used his work to enter apartment buildings. Police later found thousands of pairs of women’s underwear at his home.
The court also heard that Chan had been caught secretly filming a woman in a changing room in 2019.
However, his offending later grew far beyond that earlier case.
In the year before his arrest, Chan was making more than one video a day, the court heard.
He then shared images and videos online.
Shops became hunting grounds
The victims were filmed in many familiar places.
Court records say more than 400 people were recorded at Value Village locations in Victoria. About 80 others were filmed at Walmart stores.
Other locations included bookstores, pharmacies, shopping centres and other well-known businesses.
Some women were also filmed while sunbathing at what police believe was Willows Beach in Oak Bay.
In five cases, victims were recorded through the windows of their homes or apartments.
The locations included parts of James Bay, Fairfield and Hillside.
Police also found about 100 hours of footage of women at gyms and malls that prosecutors said did not meet the legal test for criminal voyeurism.
One victim was afraid to go outside
One woman learned about Chan’s crime against her in January 2025.
An officer who knew her recognized her in footage taken from Chan’s home.
The woman had no idea she had been filmed.
She later watched the video and realized Chan had followed her inside Indigo Books.
The discovery left her deeply shaken.
She said she had trouble understanding how someone could stand so close to her without her noticing.
For a while, she was afraid to go out alone.
Even a trip to the grocery store felt unsafe.
Then, only weeks ago, a man started talking to her while she stood in a dollar store line.
Her body froze.
That moment brought back the fear.
The damage reaches far beyond the videos
Other victims described similar struggles in statements filed with the court.
Some said they now find it hard to work.
Others said their mental health suffered. Some changed how they dress. Others stopped using public transit.
One woman said she spent money on Uber rides because buses no longer felt safe.
Another woman got off a bus after she saw another passenger pointing a phone camera in her direction. She then walked for almost an hour.
The impact also reached relationships.
Victims said they now struggle to trust people. Some feel powerless. Others say their sense of freedom has been damaged.
One victim, who was 17 when she was filmed, said the crime took away part of her innocence.
One victim lost her education and income
Another woman was underage when Chan filmed her while she worked at a mall.
The incident brought back earlier trauma.
She began to withdraw from others. Her college grades fell. Eventually, she had to leave school.
She also struggled to keep a job because public places caused intense anxiety.
She receives counselling and financial support through WorkSafeBC. However, she told the court that the annual support of about $4,900 does not cover her needs.
She said the crime affected her safety, independence and ability to support herself.
Some videos remain online
There is another painful problem.
Some of Chan’s recordings continue to circulate online.
The Crown told the court that Chan had become known in online voyeur communities. Other users downloaded and reposted his material.
Police have removed some files from websites linked to Chan.
However, removing every copy has proved much harder.
Searches using usernames connected to Chan still lead to some images and videos on social media and pornography sites.
That means victims can face a new wave of harm each time someone shares their images.
Saanich police acknowledged the problem.
Deputy Chief Const. Damian Kowalewich said the size of the case was unprecedented. He also said the lasting impact on victims cannot be overstated.
Police recognize that once material spreads online, every copy may not be removable.
For victims, that uncertainty adds another layer of distress.
Questions remain about the police response
The case has also raised questions about how police handled the investigation.
Saanich police have faced calls to reveal more information about where Chan filmed people.
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma has said potential victims have a right to know key details that could help them determine whether they were affected.
Yet police have not publicly identified every location.
That leaves some people wondering whether they, too, could appear in the footage.
CBC News reviewed court records and courtroom audio while speaking with victims about the case.
The findings show a crime that reached far beyond the moment a camera captured an image.
Victims find strength in speaking out
For one victim, the public disclosure of the case was frightening at first.
Saanich police announced the case publicly on May 21, the day Chan was sentenced.
The woman said she had expected police to warn her before the announcement. She says that did not happen.
At first, she found online discussion difficult to read.
Over time, however, she found some comfort in seeing the wider public understand what had happened.
It helped her accept that she had been violated.
It also helped her understand that she was not responsible.
Her message to other victims is simple.
They did nothing wrong.
They did not cause the crime.
And they should not blame themselves.
The crime may have ended in court, but not online
Chan is now in prison.
Still, his victims continue to deal with the effects of what happened.
Some have lost confidence. Some have changed their daily lives. Others fear that their images may appear online again.
And because some material remains available, the case continues to follow them.
For these women and girls, the sentence may have closed one chapter.
But it has not closed the story.
