Sheriff's deputies confiscated Alex Chapman's computer equipment on Monday. (CBC)

A Winnipeg man embroiled in a controversy over nude photos of a lawyer who later became a Manitoba judge has had his computer equipment seized by sheriff's deputies on Monday.

A justice of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ordered last week that Alex Chapman surrender the equipment.

He offered to bring the equipment to the courthouse and hand it over to the sheriff's office, but Justice Joan McKelvey ordered deputies to confiscate it from Chapman's residence.

The equipment may contain nude photos of Lori Douglas, who was a lawyer at the time. She is now associate chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench (family division).

The equipment may also contain other documentation exchanged between Chapman and Douglas's husband, lawyer Jack King.

The computer equipment will be held by the sheriff's office until Chapman returns to court on Oct. 12.

He is suing King for $10 million and Douglas for $7 million.

Chapman has also filed a $50-million lawsuit against the law firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, where King and Douglas used to work.

In addition, Chapman has filed a complaint of sexual harassment and discrimination against Douglas with the Canadian Judicial Council.

Douglas has temporarily stepped aside from her duties as a sitting judge but remains with the court in an administrative capacity.

Chapman has also filed a complaint against King with the Law Society of Manitoba.

Harassment alleged

According to court documents, Chapman alleges he was harassed in 2003 by King, who he retained to handle his divorce.

Chapman claims King tried to get him to have sex with Douglas, who was then a Winnipeg lawyer. King also showed him sexually explicit photos of Douglas, naked in various forms of bondage, in chains, with sex toys and performing oral sex.

At some point, King also mentioned a porn website devoted to interracial sex, particularly between black men and white women, Chapman alleges, adding King indicated he wanted Chapman, who is black, to have sex with Douglas.

Statements of defence have not yet been filed by any of the defendants.

King's lawyer, Bill Gange, requested at a hearing in court last week that Chapman's computer be seized in order to prevent him from further disseminating the pictures of Douglas.

Chapman provided copies of the images to some people. McKelvey has ordered Chapman to retrieve all of that material and immediately return "all documents, emails and photographs" ever sent to him by King.

Chapman told court he has retrieved the materials from some people but has been denied by others.

He also said that many of the photographs have once again shown up on websites but that he has no control over that.