No charges over revenge website

Expert says case exposes flaws in criminal harassment law

VANCOUVER• The British Columbia Crown’s decision not to charge a man who created a revenge website to destroy his ex-wife’s reputation reveals the limits of criminal harassment law in the digital age, experts say.

The Crown said it could not conclude the woman had an “objective basis to fear for her safety.” The website includes private photos, her address and phone number and describes her as a white supremacist, child abuser and drug addict.

“I do think it’s worth having a conversation as a society to find out whether or not ‘ objective fear for your safety’ is in fact the right threshold, when more and more harassment is taking place online,” said David Fraser, an Internet and pri- vacy lawyer.

The c ase i nvolving a B. C. man. and an Arizona woman has prompted criticism of Canadian law enforcement. While experts said the high threshold set by criminal harassment law plays a role, they also urged the Crown and police to take another look at the case.

Patrick Fox, whose birth name is Richard Riess, said in an interview that he created the site about his exwife Desiree Capuano to cause “as much damage to her reputation and life as possible,” but that he would never physically harm her.

He said he would only take the site down if she reached a low point in her life that satisfied him or if she died. He said it “would be great” if she killed herself, but it isn’t a goal of the site.

The couple separated in 2001, when their son was a baby. Capuano alleged that Fox hid the child from her for years, while Fox said she abandoned the boy. He was later convicted of perjury and deported from the U. S. in 2013.

Capuano now has custody of their son and lives near Tucson, Ariz. She said she l i ves with constant stress and f ear and has struggled to find work after being laid off months ago. At one point he sent her colleagues links to the website, she said.

Fox has also sent her hundreds of threatening emails, some including photos of his gun licence and a spot where he said he could cross the border, she said.

“I don’t understand how, just because he’s not physically in front of me with a gun, that it’s not considered to be harassment,” she said through tears.

She vehemently denied Fox’s allegations that she’s a child abuser, white supremacist or drug addict. She said she has not launched a defamation suit because she can’t afford the legal costs.

Isabel Grant, a University of British Columbia law professor and criminal harassment expert, said courts have said reasonable fear for one’s safety also includes psychological safety.

She noted that a recent Twitter harassment trial in Ontario resulted in an acquittal because the judge could not conclude the fear of the two complainants was reasonable. She said the B.C. case appears more egregious and could fall within criminal harassment law.

Dan McLaughlin, spokesman f or B. C.’ s Criminal Justice Branch, said RCMP arrested, interviewed and released Fox in July 2015. Investigators later recommended charges, but they were not approved.