SEXIST SLUR OFFENSIVE, VULGAR BUT NOT A CRIME

A judge has ruled a notorious sexist slur aimed at a reporter in St. John’s, N.L., was vulgar and offensive but wasn’t a crime under the circumstances. Provincial court Judge Colin Flynn dismissed the single charge against 28- year- old Justin Penton of causing a public disturbance. Penton acknowledged he yelled a phrase commonly abbreviated to FHITP at NTV reporter Hea- ther Gillis, pictured, last April as she taped an interview outside the St. John’s dump. But Flynn ruled the incident — part of a phenomenon that has plagued journalists in the United States and Canada since 2015 — did not meet legal precedents for interfering with the public peace. Gillis says she understands the constraints of the law but is disappointed in the ruling.