‘I felt terrorized’
Man said he lived in fear after defendant messaged his workplace, accusing him of raping a friend
A man who had rape allegations about him posted on his employer’s Facebook page and recorded on phone messages was so fearful for his life, he said, he slept with a knife and had to move out of his house.
“I was scared for my well-being,” the man said.
“I felt terrorized. I didn’t feel safe in my home.”
The man — who can’t be identified — testified Friday at provincial court in St. John’s in the trial of Kenneth Joseph Power, a Conception Bay South tattoo artist charged with criminal harassment.
Power, 45, has admitted that between Feb. 9 and March 24, he wrote posts on the man’s employer’s Facebook page, claiming the man violently raped a female friend.
“Condom or no condom, buddy! Yeah, I know what you did,” was Power’s first post on the company’s page on Feb. 9.
The man said he was in bed that night of Feb. 9 when a coworker informed him of the post.
“I was shocked by what I read,” the man told the court.
About half an hour later, he sent Power a personal message on Facebook messenger, saying, “I’m not sure who you are but I think you have me confused with someone.”
Power replied, “I think you’re confused if you think I’m going to (let) you away with what you did.”
The man told Power he had no idea what he was talking about.
Power then asked him if he lived on a certain street and named the street.
“What?” the man replied. “Look man, you’ve clearly got the wrong guy whatever you’re thinking.”
Power then said, “Sleep tight.”
The man said the comment sparked fear in him.
“I locked my door and got a kitchen knife,” he said. “I was awake all night.”
The next day, the man said, he went to his company’s human resources manager and CEO to discuss the issue.
“I was hoping this was just a misunderstanding,” he said.
The man said he moved out of his house the next night and stayed with his girlfriend. He also had a security system installed at his place.
He had hoped that was the end of it, he said.
But there was more.
On Feb. 19, Power left a message on the company’s telephone voice mail, saying the man had been raping girls for years and that he was dangerous.
“He needs to be stopped,” Power said on the message.
Power left a second message on March 10, addressing it to a certain female employee, telling her that the man raped their mutual friend and that he was “raping girls locally. You might want to be careful of that motherf---er.”
The company, which conducted an internal investigation, later traced the calls to Power’s tattoo business.
The man testified that he contacted his lawyer, who sent a letter to Power, telling him to stop or else face legal action.
But Power wrote another post on the company’s Facebook review page on March 24: “Not going away. Only the guilty lawyer up (wink sign). See you soon.”
The man said he took that as a threat and contacted police. It led to the man filing a peace bond.
The case was called a few weeks later in provincial court, where Power admitted to making the posts and the phone calls. He agreed to sign the bond, but took issue with the assertion that it was a threat.
Power was charged with criminal harassment and publishing defamatory libel. Prior to the start of proceedings Friday, the Crown withdrew the defamation charge.
The man testified that Power’s actions made him fear for his life.
“I was constantly looking over my shoulder,” he said, adding he had to purchase underground parking at work. “I was withdrawn … and had to seek counselling to deal with the anxiety of it.”
He said he was also concerned for people at his work, who were also affected by the incidents.
When Power took the stand, he said he didn’t mean to scare employees.
“I just wanted (them) to know what was in their midst,” especially the females, he said.
He admitted he should have gone to the police with the information he had.
He said he had received the information from a friend that the man had raped their mutual friend.
“She’s been my friend for 10 years. … When I heard this happened to her…” said Power, who became emotional and stopped in mid- sentence.
He was then asked about particular comments he made. He said, in the Facebook messenger conversation with the man, “Sleep tight,” was merely a way of ending the conversation, not to scare him.
When he used the words, “See you soon,” he said it wasn’t a threat, but just an acknowledgement that he expected the man to take some kind of legal action against him.
In closing arguments, defence lawyer Keri-lynn Power said the fear the man felt was likely more about what would happen to his life and career if that information were made public.
“It wasn’t about the contact, but the context,” she said.
She pointed out that Power never made direct contact with the man. She pointed out that the Facebook messenger conversation was initiated by the complainant. She said Power’s comments were made on a public forum and were sent to the company to make employees aware of the information he had.
“He didn’t reach out to (the complainant),” the defence lawyer said. “He reached out to the company.”
She said even when there was communication with the man, Power was quick to end it.
She added that the complainant could pursue the case in a civil court, rather than criminal.
But Crown prosecutor Jennifer Colford said Power knew exactly what he was doing.
“If you’re aware someone is accusing you of a serious offence and says ‘sleep tight,’ you’re trying to instill some fear within them,” Colford said.
She said the complainant’s reaction — feeling frightened and moving out — was reasonable given the circumstances.
She said Power’s social media and phone messages were not meant to warn people at the company, but rather were meant to harass the man.
“Mr. Power is making broad statements that (the complainant) has been raping girls for years, is contacting his work, told him to sleep tight, (so) it would be a reasonable fear that this person is out to get you,” Colford said.
Judge Mike Madden will render a verdict Jan. 3.