Lawyer calls for criminal harassment law reform
Posted February 20, 2016 11:44 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A legal expert is calling for reform of Canada’s criminal harassment law after the BC Crown declined to charge a man who created a revenge website to destroy his ex-wife’s reputation.
David Fraser, one of the country’s leading technology lawyers, says the Crown’s refusal to lay charges because it could not conclude the woman has an objective fear for her personal safety reveals the law’s limitations.
He says it’s time to have a conversation about whether an objective fear for one’s safety is the appropriate threshold for charges, when more harassment is happening online.
Patrick Fox, also known as Richard Riess, says he created the website to do as much damage to his ex-wife’s reputation and life as possible but he would not inflict physical harm upon her.
The website includes private photos, her home address and phone number and describes her as a white supremacist, child abuser and drug addict.
Desiree Capuano lives in Arizona and says the website’s claims are untrue, but she says it has destroyed her life, caused her public humiliation, emotional anguish and prevented her from finding work.
