Allegations involving his own young daughter surface against Canadian at centre of W5 investigation into videotaped sexual assaults

Bryan Hayward's ex-wife says she is concerned that Hayward drugged their then 11-year-old daughter during a visit in June 2023.

Warning: This story contains graphic details and allegations of sexual assault

This series is part of an ongoing W5 investigation that has infiltrated a global online network of men who are secretly drugging, raping, filming and sharing the videos of their unsuspecting wives and intimate partners. Watch W5’s full documentary, “Sleeping with the Enemy,” Saturday at 9 p.m. on CTV.

Hamilton police will be “reviewing all cases involving Bryan Hayward,” the 36-year-old man who was recently charged with sexual assault and has a history of predatory allegations and charges against him, W5 has learned.

The development comes amidst a wide-ranging investigation by CTV’s W5 looking into a global network of men who sedate, abuse, film and disseminate content of their intimate partners.

An account belonging to Hayward on a porn site where some men post videos of sexual abuse was discovered during the W5 investigation. Hayward’s account contained numerous videos of five or six different women who appear to be unconscious while he performs sexual acts on them.

W5 alerted Hamilton police of the potential crimes and they subsequently arrested Hayward on May 16 for allegedly drugging, raping, filming and distributing content of an ex-girlfriend.

Since his arrest, other potential victims have contacted Hamilton police, but it is uncertain how many. In a statement, Hamilton police wrote to W5 that “...to protect the integrity of the investigation we will not be releasing the number.”

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Over half a dozen women have contacted W5 about Hayward relating to concerns surrounding drugging or alleged sexual assault.

This includes Hayward’s ex-wife, who is also the mother of their 13-year-old daughter.

In an exclusive interview with W5, the woman, who we are calling Rachel in order to protect her identity, recounted a night from June 2023 involving Hayward and their then 11-year-old daughter that haunts her.

“He had asked me if she could sleep over that evening because it was the night before his birthday. And I said, no,” she told W5’s Avery Haines.

Hayward had picked up their daughter from school and spent the afternoon with her. After Rachel wouldn’t approve the sleepover, Hayward returned their daughter to her house around 8 p.m.

W5 has obtained text messages between Bryan Hayward and his ex-wife from that evening.

“Here,” he texts Rachel, informing her that their daughter “...is not feeling super well.”

“She looks like she’s been fu*king drugged Bryan,” Rachel texted back a short time after.

Hayward responds nearly 12 hours later: “What?” he asks.

In her interview with W5, Rachel said she was immediately concerned with her daughter’s condition upon her returning home. “She was slumped over, she was drooling, she was clearly intoxicated,” she said.

Rachel then brought their daughter to the hospital where toxicology tests were performed.

Toxicology report

W5 has obtained the medical records from the hospital trip as well as the toxicology test results. The records indicate that upon arrival at the hospital, Hayward’s daughter was “presenting with lethargy, slurred speech and unsteady gait…”

The toxicology report “returned positive for benzodiazepines,” a sedative, in his daughter’s urine.

With Rachel’s consent, the hospital contacted Hamilton police and an investigation was opened.

During the course of the investigation, Rachel says she informed Hamilton police of an alleged crime Hayward committed against her 10 years prior in Calgary. Rachel claims that while they were still living together, he drugged and assaulted her.

“I was nervous for a big meeting at work the next day. I got a headache. He gave me what I thought was a Tylenol or Advil,” she said. “I immediately got tired and thought, oh good, I’m going to go to bed. I went to sleep. I woke up to him strangling me. He wouldn’t stop.”

The report to Hamilton police in 2023 was the first time Rachel had alerted authorities about the alleged attack.

“I told them that I was suspicious that what he had given me was drugs, and they asked me why I was telling them that. I told them because I believe it’s relevant to what happened to my daughter,” she said.

Police respond ‘there are no updates’

According to emails between Rachel and Hamilton police, during the subsequent investigation, Rachel reached out repeatedly to Hamilton police for status updates relating to Hayward.

“I called and left you a message…” Rachel wrote to police in one email. “It is urgent as I am concerned for hers and my safety going forward,” she added.

“Please advise asap on how I should be handling my daughter’s safety,” she wrote in another.

Hamilton police responded in one reply that they are investigating but that “There are no updates in regards to the matter.”

About seven months later, more allegations surrounding Hayward would surface. Upon hearing that Rachel’s daughter had been drugged, one of Hayward’s ex-girlfriends approached Rachel claiming that Hayward had drugged, filmed and raped her.

• More W5 investigations

Rachel informed Hamilton police of these allegations in early 2024. Along with names of additional potential victims, porn site accounts and online posts relating to drugs that she found concerning.

Hamilton police emailed Rachel that they spoke with the ex-girlfriend “at length” about the alleged rape.

Ultimately, the woman decided not to pursue the case further out of fear of not being believed as a victim.

Hayward would not be charged in relation to his daughter testing positive for benzodiazepines in her system or for the allegation he drugged and raped his ex-girlfriend.

Six months later, in July 2024, Hayward would be charged with criminal harassment and dangerous driving in relation to an incident with the same ex-girlfriend.

The very same woman Hayward was arrested on May 16 for allegedly drugging, raping, filming and distributing content of.

After inquiring with Hamilton police about the historical allegations against Hayward and concerns that they have been improperly dismissed, Hamilton police responded that, “At the time, there was insufficient evidence to support charges related to Hayward’s daughter.”

Adding that “With the new information that has come to light, we will be reviewing all cases involving Brian Hayward and continue to work with victims to support them when, and if, they are ready to report.”

When Hamilton police arrested Hayward two weeks ago, they seized his electronic devices and harddrives. His ex-wife, Rachel, is terrified of what secrets might be buried in those devices.

“It’s impossible to prepare for. My only concern at this point is my daughter. Of course, I would like to know if I was shared in that content. But it would shatter our worlds to find out that she was.”

More on this story:

• ‘She will slowly disappear’: Second man under investigation for potentially drugging, raping and filming a woman
• W5 reveals disturbing ease with which network of rapists buy, make and administer drugs to abuse women
• Connections between network of men who drug, rape and record women, W5 investigation reveals
• Canadian man at centre of widescale W5 sexual assault investigation arrested and charged