A teenager who shared graphic images of an alleged rape at a Pitt Meadows rave has been sentenced to 12 months' probation, a punishment the victim's family calls "disappointing."

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be identified because of his age, pleaded guilty in Port Coquitlam provincial court last December to one charge of distributing obscene material.

During a sentencing hearing Friday, the teen told the court that he took the photos because he got caught up in the moment and didn't think his friends would believe what he'd seen. He said he didn't expect the pictures to end up online.

However, Judge Pedro de Couto pointed out that the young offender hadn't discouraged any of his friends from posting the images on social networking sites. The judge said that while he believed the teen was remorseful, his actions have had a huge effect on the victim.

In a victim impact statement read for the court, the teen girl wrote that she has lost friends and suffers from panic attacks.

"I feel I cannot leave my home and go out because I believe people are staring at me," she said. "I feel like I am living in fear and hiding from the world."

The young offender's probation sentence also stipulates that he write a 1,500-word essay on the potential impacts of social media, as well as an apology letter to the victim. The youth is forbidden from having any contact with the victim, must abstain from alcohol and drugs and has to allow checks on his computer to verify that he has not been accessing pornography.

The victim's father told reporters outside the court that the sentence is a "slap on the wrist" and brushed off the essay as "a joke."

"Clearly, my family, my daughter live with this turmoil every single day, and it still goes on," he said.

"Out of all the charges laid, this is the most damaging as far as we're concerned. It did not allow my daughter the privacy and the time to heal."

He said he'd like to see a review of the Young Offenders Act, with a particular focus on crimes committed through social media.

Mounties say that the 16-year-old victim was raped at a rave called "Another Night in Bangkok" in rural Pitt Meadows while partygoers watched and took photos in September 2010. The pictures were shared on Facebook and by cell phone.

Investigators believe as many as 12 people watched the assault, but have said a "code of silence" amongst witnesses at the party stymied their work.

Only two other young adults, Colton Ashton McMorris and Dennis John Allen Warrington, are facing charges in connection with the rave. McMorris has been charged with sexual assault while Warrington is also accused of making and distributing child pornography.

More than a year ago, police said they believed at least one more man had sexually assaulted the young victim, but no other suspects have been charged to date.

After news of the alleged rape went public, the victim became the target of name-calling and tasteless comments on a Facebook group devoted to casting doubt on her story. The victim's parents said she was tormented at school and felt obliged to take most of her classes online.

A handful of fellow students at her high school eventually relented and wrote letters apologizing for their behaviour.

The girl's father says she lost virtually an entire year of school because of the ordeal and is now taking night classes in an effort to graduate with her friends.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber