A high-profile convict has won a $6,000 out-of-court settlement from Correctional Services of Canada after guards distributed a newspaper article about him to other prisoners.

Inmate Gregory McMaster said the guards violated the prison system's own rules and put him at risk by posting a Toronto Sun news article. (CBC) Gregory McMaster, who has been in prison for 33 years for killing three people in 1978, filed a lawsuit against prison officials claiming the action of the guards endangered his life and subjected him to ridicule.

Guards at Fenbrook Institution near Gravenhurst, Ont., copied and distributed a news article about him from the Toronto Sun that referred to McMaster in "certain unpleasant" terms, his lawyer, John Hill, told CBC News.

"It was just information that was intended to incite animosity towards Mr. McMaster and for that the Correctional Services of Canada had all the blame," Hill said.

Hill said corrections staff are, by law, required to ensure the safety and privacy rights of inmates are respected. There are specific prison rules against posting such information, he said.

McMaster said he's pleased with the decision. He said the guards violated the prison system's own rules and put him at risk by posting the news article.

"I wanted someone held accountable," he said. "This has happened to me at least 30 times and I was bound to put a stop to it."

McMaster is no stranger to lawsuits: He received another $6,000 two years ago after a judge ruled that officials were negligent in not providing him with adequate footwear. In a precedent-setting case, the judge called it "misfeasance in public office." He's also scheduled to be back in court later this year on an issue involving his security classification.

Hill acknowledged his client "tends to be very litigious," noting McMaster is "very intelligent."

"And he knows his rights and doesn't let anyone step on them," his lawyer said.

Prison officials have not commented on the settlement.