Ex-wife says insults countered online harassment

VANCOUVER — A woman who says her exhusband harassed her online for years told a B.C. Supreme Court jury she resorted to insults and sarcasm as a defence against his attacks.

Patrick Fox faces two charges, including criminal harassment, over online communications and publications aimed at his ex-wife, Desiree Capuano.

The court has heard the alleged harassment consisted of caustic emails spanning years and a website that shared Capuano’s personal information, including photos and her address.

The website referred to Capuano as a white supremacist, child abuser and drug addict, the trial heard.

Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Capuano said she responded by “giving it back” with insults or sarcasm in her replies to Fox’s emails.

“At this point, I didn’t feel like it mattered what I did,” she told the jury. “But at least I wasn’t just taking it lying down. It felt like I was getting beat up every day by the emails.”

Capuano has given most of her testimony behind a screen that separates her from Fox. On Tuesday, the screen was removed while she identified Fox as the author of numerous emails sent to her.

Fox is representing himself at the trial, but the court has appointed defence lawyer Tony Lagemaat to crossexamine Capuano in Fox’s place.

Lagemaat read out a number of email exchanges in court, including some in which Capuano calls Fox an “impotent child,” insults his intelligence and says Fox’s actions portray him as a “stalker ex-boyfriend.”

“Did you ever wonder what would happen if you just stopped?” Lagemaat asked.

“I tried that,” Capuano replied. “It didn’t work. He just kept escalating.”