Latest news with #criminalharassment
CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
Hatchet-waving, racial slur-hurling Calgary neighbour charged
Disturbing actions from a next-door neighbour have a Calgary family calling for action from police and policymakers. The man was charged. Serious criminal charges have now been laid after a Calgary family raised concerns about police not acting quickly following frightening and bizarre behaviour by a neighbour. But after CTV's reporting of the situation Tuesday, police have charged Shayne Stewart with two counts of criminal harassment and one count each of assault with a weapon, mischief, unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of a controlled substance. The 47 year-old was taken into custody. He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday. Joffrey De Villa was pleased to hear police have taken action, after he called 911 in May and July when his security cameras caught disturbing behaviour from his neighbour. When De Villa's truck was vandalized outside his southeast Calgary home in October, his family installed security cameras, which months later captured video of their neighbour on their driveway holding hatchets and shouting racial slurs, then chopping into their planters. De Villa called 911 but said the responding officer called it a mental-health incident and never followed up with them. 'It's not too big of a value to me, but it's an indication that he is trying to destroy or damage property or, worse, can hurt someone one day,' said De Villa. On July 11, he called 911 again when video caught the same neighbour kicking De Villa's garage while cursing. He called 911 another time that night when the family woke to loud sounds and saw video showing the neighbour with hatchets outside their front door, once again cursing and shouting slurs. De Villa, his wife and their 15-year-old son have lived in the home for 12 years. De Villa said they have previously had only pleasant interactions with the neighbour and understand there are mental-health issues, but he wants action—and not just for his family. 'I wish our leaders, politicians, (would) do something about it; there's a lot going on like this right now. It's a crisis,' said De Villa. 'There's a mental issue involved; of course they need help. But us, too. We need help. We need peace of mind. 'I want my house to be my sanctuary.' Disturbing actions from a next-door neighbour have a Calgary family calling for action from police and policymakers. Disturbing actions from a next-door neighbour have a Calgary family calling for action from police and policymakers. Top priority Calgary Police Service said the safety of all Calgarians, particularly those being targeted in their own homes, is a top priority. 'While we aim to act quickly, ongoing investigations can sometimes have unforeseen challenges that can become time consuming, including the need to collect evidence, witness statements and compile the necessary information to support formal charges. It is important to understand that we strive not simply for a charge, but the successful prosecution of those offenders we charge,' said a statement from CPS.
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
Windsor police officer gets 2 years probation in criminal harassment, indecent communications case
Windsor police Const. Joshua Smith received two years of probation in a a criminal harassment case that the court had previously heard included phoning a woman repeatedly over a two-week period, each time not saying anything, but moaning and breathing heavily. The CBC's Jason Viau reports.
CBC
14-07-2025
- CBC
Windsor police officer sentenced for criminal harassment, indecent phone calls
Windsor police Const. Joshua Smith will face two years of probation for repeatedly calling a female co-worker to moan and breathe heavily without saying any words. Smith had been facing a charge of criminal harassment and indecent phone calls dating back to September 2023. As part of a plea deal accepted on Friday, an Ontario Court judge handed Smith a conditional discharge. That means there has been a finding of guilt, but no criminal conviction is registered if he complies with his conditions. On Monday, a Police Services Act hearing briefly took place and was pushed to August. These hearings will determine what, if any, internal discipline Smith will face as an officer for these offences. In a completely separate case, Smith was charged again in May of this year with uttering threats. His next court appearance is in September for that case. Smith has been suspended with pay since he was first charged in September 2023. According to Ontario's most recent Sunshine List disclosures, a Const. Joshua F. A. Smith with the Windsor Police Service was paid $125,320 in 2024.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- CTV News
Eskasoni man wanted for assault, forcible confinement: N.S. RCMP
Rein Kyler Rodman Ryan (Dennis) is pictured in this image from the Nova Scotia RCMP. The Nova Scotia RCMP is looking for a 26-year-old man wanted on a provincewide arrest warrant. Rein Kyler Rodman Ryan (also known as Rein Kyler Rodman Dennis) of Eskasoni, N.S., is facing the following charges: in committing assault chokes, suffocates or strangles forcible confinement assault two counts of criminal harassment two counts of uttering threats Eskasoni RCMP says it has made several attempts to locate Ryan (Dennis) and is now asking the public for help. Ryan (Dennis) is described as five-foot-11 and 160 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Police say he should not be approached if spotted. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Eskasoni RCMP at 902-379-2800 or their local police. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
03-07-2025
- CBC
Sentencing in 'extraordinary' revenge porn, sex assault case proceeds as convict absconds from justice
A judge is now considering what sentence to hand down to a U.S. man convicted in Ottawa of sexually assaulting a young woman, then, after she had left him, embarking on a campaign of criminal harassment against her, her family and her former boyfriend, as well as publishing her intimate images online. It comes after David Bukoski was found to be absconding justice when he failed to show up in person to Superior Court Justice Adriana Doyle's judgment back in March, in which she found him guilty of eight of the 13 charges he faced in a case she called "unusual and extraordinary." The sentencing phase is proceeding in absentia. Bukoski's trial was mammoth, sitting for about 60 days over the course of three years. He had been given permission to attend virtually from his home in Pennsylvania while the evidence was heard due to his health problems, and even to testify remotely. That permission was revoked ahead of Doyle's judgment but he showed up online anyway, then failed to return at all after the lunch break. After the judgment, defence lawyer Mellington Godoy removed himself as counsel, given that Bukoski was found to be absconding and Doyle was signing a warrant for his arrest. Godoy participated in Wednesday's sentencing as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court. Bukoski has not been arrested for absconding. Sentencing is expected to be completed ahead of the arrest and extradition proceedings, which could take months. The Crown is asking for a 10-year prison sentence, among other orders. Godoy said the range is five years on the low end and 10 on the high end. 'Stole my teenage years' The now 25-year-old victim, who cannot be identified due to a routine publication ban protecting her, read a long impact statement in court Wednesday, with her support dog at her side and her family in the gallery behind her. She met Bukoski online just before she turned 13, when she was "impressionable, naive, and unaware of how vulnerable I truly was." He was around 18, "had power," and "knew exactly how to manipulate, how to exploit and how to keep control." She said the trauma inflicted on her as a child "stole my teenage years" and continues "to affect my relationships, my health, my trust in people and my ability to feel safe in the world." Bukoski sexually assaulted her in the summer of 2017. He took her virginity, forcefully penetrated her "and left me with no concept of what a positive or consensual sexual experience was supposed to feel like," she told court. As a result, her two subsequent long-term relationships have suffered. After she left him, Bukoski began his harassment and she contacted police. She told court that "unlike the abuse I had endured in silence since I was 13, this time it wasn't just directed at me — it spilled into every corner of my life." He sent unwanted food deliveries to her home, made threats against her family and targeted their workplaces, and contacted her school and employer. He hacked her online accounts and posted her private information online, including her Social Insurance Number, banking details, school records and her family's employment information. He faked his own suicide twice to torment her. After the first suicide hoax he posted her intimate images online and sent an email to her school accusing her of sleeping with teachers in exchange for grades. 'It was a multi-year trauma' Then Bukoski called in a fake threat involving her then boyfriend, who was arrested at gunpoint and held in custody for hours. Weeks later, the boyfriend's car was firebombed in the driveway of his family's home. Bukoski was charged in connection to an alleged firebombing plot and attempted murder — and a man testified that he had planted a bomb at Bukoski's behest — but Bukoski was found not guilty of all those charges. While the court found it probable that Bukoski provided information to the man and may have manipulated him, it ruled the evidence did not meet the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The man's testimony contained inconsistencies and there was no corroborating evidence linking Bukoski directly to the attack. The former boyfriend read his own victim impact statement Wednesday, saying he genuinely thought he was going to die when screaming police arrested him with their guns drawn, that the firebombing robbed him and his family of their sense of safety, and that the emotional scars haven't faded. "This wasn't just a period of stress or discomfort. It was a multi-year trauma. The defendant's actions hijacked my life. They invaded my home, my relationships, my ability to trust, my sleep, my mental health and my future," he said. Everything stopped when Bukoski was arrested in July 2018. Ending her statement, the assault victim said her mental health, education and career paths and ability to grow her family have all been negatively affected by Bukoski and the trauma he caused. The Crown is seeking about $30,700 in restitution for her. Won't return hacked email account Court heard Wednesday that Bukoski is continuing to prevent the victim from accessing her Gmail account, which the judge found he had hacked. While the court waited for the judge to come back to court to address the issue, Crown prosecutor James Cavanagh told the victim in the courtroom that Godoy had asked Bukoski for the password to the account earlier Wednesday, and that Bukoski had replied and declined. When Doyle returned, Cavanagh asked her to write an endorsement asking Google to consider returning the account to the victim's control. He said someone from the Crown's office would pass that on to Google, with whom the office apparently has a "good working relationship," according to assistant Crown prosecutor Matthew Brown. "I just don't like this person to continue to have a tie on my life," the victim told the judge, when asked for her comments. Doyle said she would write the endorsement. Doyle's sentencing decision is expected in September.
