Latest news with #JasonNassr
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
'Creeper Hunter' acquitted of rare intimidation charge
It's what Jason Nassr didn't get a chance to say that led a judge to acquit him of intimidating a prosecutor at his criminal trial in 2023 Jason Nassr is shown in a photo taken on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) It wasn't just what Jason Nassr said, but what he didn't get a chance to say. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account And not knowing what the 45-year-old Creeper Hunter TV creator was going to utter before he was cut off after blurting out the name of a prosecutor's child at his 2023 jury trial cast enough doubt for a judge to acquit him of intimidating a justice participant. 'After considering all the evidence, I am less than sure that Mr. Nassr's purpose in referring to (the prosecutor's child) was to instill fear in him,' said Superior Court Justice James Stribopoulos in his decision Wednesday at the end of Nassr's three-day trial. 'Similarly, I'm left in a state of doubt concerning whether Mr. Nassr subjectively appreciated the likely impact on (the prosecutor) of referring to his child.' While Stribopoulos said he 'unreservedly' accepted the prosecutor's testimony that when Nassr said, 'I know you have a kid named (child's name),' he was 'immediately overcome with gut-wrenching sense of fear.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. However, Nassr followed up the comment with 'Now I…' before Superior Court Justice Alissa Mitchell 'understandably' cut him off, excused the jury and admonished Nassr for making the personal comment, raising his voice and losing his cool. 'Mr. Nassr never finished saying whatever he planned to after mentioning (the prosecutor's) child,' Stribopoulos said. 'However, it is readily apparent that he had been trying to say something. It is impossible to know what Mr. Nassr intended to say before the trial judge interrupted him.' The testy cross-examination happened on Jan 31, 2023, at Nassr's lengthy trial in London stemming from his activities as a self-styled online vigilante who claimed to track down potential child predators. He would pose on adult dating sites as a young woman, and, once someone was interested, migrate the highly sexualized conversations to text messages, where 'she' would reveal 'herself' to be a 12- or 13-year-old girl. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. His catches would be meticulously recorded and documented with the goal to set up in-person 'gotcha' meetings. Nassr would film the meeting and the materials would be edited for the Creeper Hunter TV website, complete with names, ages and hometowns. Some episodes were reported to the police by viewers. Nassr was charged after he contacted a London-area man 10 months after first communicating with the phone number. The man told Nassr that his phone had been hacked at the time of the initial calls. Nassr persisted in accusing the man of child predation. Not long after, the police opened an investigation. The man took his own life. Read More The suicide prompted London police to check into Nassr's activities. A search of his Windsor apartment turned up a mountain of digital evidence, with some fitting the definition of child pornography. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ultimately, Nassr was convicted of extortion, harassment by telecommunications and production and distribution of child pornography through written word. He was dealt a two-year conditional sentence, with 18 months spent in house arrest, followed by two years of probation. Nassr is appealing. The rarely seen intimidation charge was laid after the trial. Stribopolous heard that Nassr had some history with the prosecutor in 2019, when Nassr was called as a witness at an Ontario Court preliminary hearing for a target charged with child luring. The luring charge never went forward. The prosecutor testified that Nassr 'was not a fan of his' and Nassr wanted to file an abuse of process charge, claiming he was charged for exactly what the Crown had encouraged him to do. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At the trial, Nassr's defence lawyer was excused after the solicitor-client relationship broke down and Nassr continued on his own. During the cross-examination, what angered Nassr was the prosecutor's suggestion that Nassr found sexual gratification in his sexualized conversations while posing as a teenaged girl and also suggested that Nassr was 'turned on' by his activities. 'It's reprehensible that you would even try to call my own sexuality into question,' Nassr said. He became more angry, ultimately identifying the prosecutor's child. After the judge's scolding, Nassr said he had 'a mental disorder, so sometimes I don't understand how the world around me perceives me.' Nassr claimed he knew the name because he overheard the prosecutor talking about his child, but the prosecutor testified he doesn't talk about his family at work and was particularly careful around Nassr. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The prosecutor's fear was that Nassr would use the information to 'dox' him, his child and the rest of his family. Stribopoulos said the fear was well-founded and '(U)ndoubtedly, any lawyer would react similarly if a witness, somewhat gratuitously, in the heat of a combative cross-examination, stated that they knew the lawyer had a child and referred to their child by name.' he said. Also, 'any reasonable person in Mr. Nassr's position would have appreciated making such a comment would be understood as menacing and instill a sense of fear in the lawyer questioning him.' However, the judge said, he had to be sure that was the only inference he could draw, particularly because Nassr was cut off by the judge. 'For instance, he might have been planning to say, 'I know that as a father of a young (child), you wouldn't appreciate me suggesting that you enjoy sexting with pedophiles.' However, it's also possible that he intended to say something far more menacing,' Stribopoulos said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The challenge lies in the fact that regardless of how poorly conceived his comment many have been, I'm unsure that whatever Mr. Nassr ultimately planned to say was meant to instill fear.' He also pointed out that Nasr kept veering off on tangents, and 'I cannot be sure whether his interrupted comment about (the prosecutor's child) was building towards something more sinister or far more innocuous.' Also, during Nassr's exchange with the trial judge, 'Mr Nassr did not say anything …that his comment about (the prosecutor's child) had some malevolent purpose or somehow crossed the line. 'That is consistent with Mr. Nassr believing that he was in the middle of making some relevant point … before he was interrupted.' Stribopoulos said he was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Nassr intended to scare or was trying to impede the prosecutor from doing his job and found Nassr not guilty. jsims@ Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Columnists World Toronto Maple Leafs
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Creator of Creeper Hunter TV found not guilty of intimidating a justice system participant
After a two-day trial, Justice James Stribopoulos wasted little time in handing down his decision and finding Jason Nassr not guilty of intimidating a justice system participant. The charge stems from Nassr's trial on harassment, extortion, and child pornography charges held in January of 2023. He would eventually be found guilty of those charges, however, during a heated exchange with the Crown at that trial, the 44-year-old Nassr blurted out that he knew the name of the prosecutor's child. The judge at this trial found, 'I accept [the Crown's] testimony that he was immediately overcome with a gut-wrenching sense of fear when Mr. Nassr mentioned his youngest [child] by name during cross-examination. Any lawyer would act similarly.' He went on to say, 'Mr. Nassr had a motive to mention [the Crown's] child to instill fear in him and dissuade him from continuing with the line of questioning.' However, Stribopoulos said one of the main reasons Nassr was acquitted in this case was because he was cut off by the presiding judge at his earlier trial and not allowed to complete his sentence after mentioning the child's name. 'As a result, Mr. Nassr never finished saying whatever he planned to after mentioning the child,' said Stribopoulos. 'It is impossible to know where Mr. Nassr was heading before being interrupted by the trial judge.' During the trial two and a half years ago, the Crown maintained that Nassr was operating Creeper Hunter TV for his own sexual gratification and the jury at that trial agreed. However, the accused said he was running the website to educate the public and to catch predators. Nassr's dealings with the court aren't over yet because he is appealing his prior convictions.
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
Defence pushes back in 'Creeper Hunter' intimidation trial
Jason Nassr can't take back the words he said during a testy cross-examination two years ago. Jason Nassr leaves the courthouse in London on Oct. 30, 2023. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) Jason Nassr can't take back the words he said during a testy cross-examination two years ago. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But Superior Court Justice James Stribopoulos must decide at Nassr's trial this week if the 45-year-old self-styled child predator vigilante suddenly invoked the name of an assistant Crown attorney's child at his 2023 trial to strike fear in the prosecutor and interfere with his ability to do his job. In closing arguments Tuesday, assistant Crown attorney Thomas Mack argued Nassr knew what he was doing, while defence lawyer Ingrid Grant suggested Nassr spoke in anger without having a chance to complete his point and give context to his comment. Nassr, creator of the now-defunct Creeper Hunter TV website, went on trial Monday for intimidating a justice participant – namely, the assistant Crown attorney who prosecuted him two years ago. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In a heated cross-examination after Nassr testified in his own defence, the prosecutor suggested part of Nassr's motivation to have highly sexualized text conversations with adult strangers – while pretending to be a young girl – was sexual gratification. 'I know you have a kid named (child's name),' Nassr said to the prosecutor, adding, 'And I know . . .' before he was cut off by Justice Alissa Mitchell, who sent the jury out, admonished him for his comment and conduct, and suggested he could face a contempt charge if he kept it up. That exchange came at Nassr's first trial in early 2023 over his activities as an online vigilante who claimed to ferret out suspected child predators by posing as a young woman on adult dating sites, then after piquing someone's interest he shifted the highly sexual conversation to texts, in which he would claim to be a 12- or 13-year-old girl. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. All this activity was recorded by Nassr. The ultimate goal was to set up a face-to-face meeting where Nassr would film the 'gotcha' moment, then edit together a website episode, including the names, ages and hometowns of the targets. His text exchanges with a 49-year-old London-area man, 10 months after Nassr first had a text conversation with the man, sparked a police probe. The man denied sending the texts, telling Nassr his phone had been stolen. But police were called to investigate and the man took his own life soon after. After a five-week trial, a jury convicted Nassr of extortion, harassment by telecommunications and two counts of child pornography through written materials. He received a two-year conditional sentence, including 18 months of house arrest, followed by two years of probation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Nassr has appealed the verdicts and sentence. His trial this week is expected to end Wednesday. The Crown called only the prosecutor and Nassr opted not to call any evidence. Mack argued that evidence points to one conclusion: 'Mr. Nassr intended to create a state of fear in (the prosecutor) . . . to impede him in this line of cross examination that Mr. Nassr found particularly objectionable.' In the exchange before the comment, Nassr, who Mack said already had a perceived beef with the prosecutor from previous dealings, was seething that the prosecutor would call his sexuality into question. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The prosecutor testified Nassr lowered his voice, looked him in the eye 'in almost a cold and calculating manner' before invoking his child's name. The Crown doesn't think Nassr was trying to derail the trial or force the prosecutor off the case, but wanted to 'create a state of fear' to stop the line of cross-examination, Mack said. There was no explanation why Nassr knew the child's name and the prosecutor knew Nassr was 'extremely adept at locating targets, . . . able to intrude digitally into people's lives and . . . went to significant lengths to extort, harass and shame targets.' The prosecutor testified he was stunned by the comment, needed time to compose himself and invoked security protocols for his family. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I think (the prosecutor's) reaction is the natural consequence of somebody looking a parent in the eye during an acrimonious proceeding moments after yelling at them, . . . and telling them that they know your child's name for no apparent reason,' Mack said. But Grant argued there's no way of knowing what Nassr meant because the judge cut him off. 'We know exactly what Mr. Nassr said, but . . . we don't know what he was going to say. He did not finish his sentence,' she said. He was making a point, she said, likely 'something about him being accused of being what I'm going to call 'pedophile adjacent' and that he in some way is turned on sexually by pretending to be a child and getting adult men to engage sexually with him.' The follow-up might have been the prosecutor wouldn't stand for being accused of sexual impropriety involving children, Grant said. It might have been an innocent follow-up. 'But he is expressing something and we cannot infer this sort of sinister intent when we have only this partial statement,' she said. Nassr was 'speaking off the cuff,' Grant said. 'We're talking about cross-examination. We're talking about a person who is upset, who's not contemplating the niceties of what he's going to say.' jsims@ Toronto Maple Leafs Columnists World Toronto & GTA Crime
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Closing submissions heard at intimidation trial of former ‘Creeper Hunter TV' creator
Jason Nassr covers his face while leaving a London, Ont. courthouse after hearing sentencing submissions and victim impact statements on July 19, 2023. (Jenn Basa/CTV News London) Jason Nassr sat next to his lawyer wearing a medical mask and taking notes as closing submissions at his intimidation trial got underway on Tuesday morning. In January 2023, the 44-year-old, who created 'Creeper Hunter TV', a website he claimed was intended to catch predators, was on trial and eventually convicted of harassment, extortion, and producing child pornography. All counts are now under appeal. It was at that trial that Nassr would be charged with intimidating a justice participant when during a heated exchange under cross-examination, he told the court he knew the name of the Crown Attorney's young child. Nassr was upset at the time because the Crown, in that case, was suggesting that he operated 'Creeper Hunter TV' for his own sexual gratification. In his closing at the intimidation trial, Crown Attorney Thomas Mack said Nassr was seething at the time he said the child's name, saying, 'The only reason he made those comments at the time is with the intention of causing fear (in the Crown) to impede him during cross-examination.' Mack said he should be found guilty because people know that Nassr is proficient online. 'He (Nassr) is adept at locating targets and he's able to intrude digitally into people's lives and he's one who went to significant lengths to extort, harass, and shame his targets,' Mack said. Later, defence lawyer Ingrid Grant told the court the Crown hasn't proven its case because Nassr did not provoke fear or impede his earlier trial. She said that Justice Alissa Mitchell cut Nassr off and didn't let him complete his sentence after he mentioned the child's name. 'Mr. Nassr gets angry... He's speaking off the cuff while he's upset,' Grant said. Justice James Stribopoulos is expected to hand down his decision on this latest case on Wednesday.
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Toronto Sun
'Creeper Hunter' on trial over personal remark about prosecutor
Jason Nassr leaves the courthouse with his parents following behind in London on Monday October 30, 2023. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press The words blurted out by Jason Nassr during an intense cross-examination were like 'a punch to the stomach.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'I know you have a kid named (child's name),' Nassr, creator of the now-defunct Creeper Hunter TV website, said to the assistant Crown attorney questioning him on Jan. 31, 2023, at an often confrontational trial that ended with him convicted by a jury of extortion, harassment by telecommunications and two child pornography counts. As soon as Nassr made that comment, Superior Court Justice Alissa Mitchell stopped the cross-examination, asked the jury to retire to their jury room, then tore a strip off Nassr, warning him he could be charged with contempt if he kept it up. Meanwhile, the prosecutor was left stunned and shaken. 'It stopped me dead in my tracks,' he said at Nassr's latest Superior Court criminal trial Monday – this time facing the rarely laid charge of intimidating a justice participant. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. What followed was a lingering fear that a man he was prosecuting for online activities would track down his family through social media and other means and create trouble for them. 'You have to remember that by then I had been dealing with him for a couple of years and I'd viewed hours and hours of video and other evidence gathered to realize that Mr. Nassr is really good at tracking down people,' he said. 'So immediately, my biggest fear is what he was going to do to my kids, my wife, my family. I felt very exposed.' Nassr, 45, of Windsor is no stranger to a London courtroom. His five-week marathon trial in 2023 delved into his online activities as a self-styled vigilante who posed as young teenage girls in attempts to ensnare people he claimed were child predators. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Unlike his first Superior Court trial, which went on for five weeks in 2023, assistant Crown attorney Thomas Mack closed his case Monday after the prosecutor, his only witness, testified and Nassr's defence lawyer, Ingrid Grant, told Justice John Stribopolous the defence would not be calling any evidence. The 2023 trial detailed how Nassr would hop on adult dating sites purporting to be a young adult woman, and once he grabbed someone's attention, would move the discussion to text messages and reveal 'she' was really a 12- or 13-year-old girl. Then he would keep up the highly sexualized conversations and sometimes arrange to meet in person. Those potential hook-ups were really gotcha moments where Nassr would show up with a camera and confront his target. He would edit, narrate and produce episodes on his Creeper Hunter TV website, including the names, ages and hometowns of the targets. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some of those episodes prompted police investigations after Nassr's viewers – not Nassr – would contact the authorities. Jason Nassr is shown in a photo taken on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) But his first trial was triggered by texts and phone calls with a 49-year-old London-area man who was confronted by Nassr 10 months after he didn't show up for a meet-up. The man denied any sexual impropriety, but Nassr still used the conversations as fodder for the website. The man took his own life. That sparked a police investigation that uncovered an enormous amount of data and writings at Nassr's apartment that fit the definition of child pornography. Nassr was given a two-year conditional sentence, with 18 months served in house arrest, to be followed with two years of probation. He is appealing the convictions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stribopoulos heard Monday that Nassr and the prosecutor had some previous history before the trial when Nassr was called to testify at the Ontario Court preliminary hearing of one of his targets. The prosecutor said the child porn charges were eventually withdrawn because other than Nassr's online episode, the Crown didn't have the raw data of text exchanges between Nassr and the target. Nassr hinted before his trial that he wanted to pursue an abuse-of-process application, arguing the prosecutor was trying him for activities that had been encouraged before. But an agreement was worked out with Nassr's former defence lawyer to not proceed with the application. But it was clear during Nassr's testimony that he still wanted to discuss it, and specifically talk about the prosecutor, leading to his defence lawyer leaving the case. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Nassr faced off against the prosecutor for whom he was now showing clear signs of disdain, especially after the prosecutor suggested Nassr got sexual gratification from his activities and that he enjoyed 'the highly sexualized dirty talk' where he role-played a young teen girl talking to older male strangers. He also suggested that the conversations and the meetings 'turn you on.' Monday, Mack played that part of the audio transcript to the judge, while Grant, the defence lawyer, played even more of it in cross-examination. The court transcript returned to the exchange between Nassr and a man in the United States, ultimately leading to the target sending images of himself performing a sex act. There were brief glimpses of Nassr shirtless, sweaty and breathing heavy. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Nassr raised his voice and told the Crown that he was 'trying to pervert this into something that it's not and became angry.' Then he said the prosecutor's child's name. The prosecutor said the comment was 'a punch to the stomach.' He left the courtroom to compose himself, breathe, thought briefly about leaving the case, then decided he needed to see it to the end, because to stop 'will be a sign of encouragement to (Nassr).' Nassr said later he'd overheard the prosecutor say his child's name while in conversation with someone. The prosecutor told the court he does not talk about his family and maintains a separation between his professional and personal lives. His family doesn't have social media connections because of his job. And, he said he was extra careful in front of Nassr. Grant, in cross-examination, suggested the prosecutor was intentionally trying to make Nassr angry. Grant noted that Nassr told the court he had a mental illness and that the prosecutor had an ethical obligation to leave the case if he was fearful. The prosecutor disagreed. 'I do my job . . . I was just trained to keep going.' Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday. jsims@ Read More Toronto Blue Jays Columnists Opinion World Columnists
