A member of the Creep Catchers vigilante group was found guilty of criminal harassment for his involvement in a incident that took place on Nov. 23, 2016.

Judge Darrell Reimer found Carl Young, also known as Carl Murphy, guilty of one count of criminal harassment.

Young was found not guilty of another count of criminal mischief after the Crown decided not to pursue the charge.

Judge Reimer delayed Young’s sentence until Jan. 22 at 1:30 p.m. due to the Crown and Young’s lawyer Maurice Collard sentencing submissions being far apart.

During the trial, which took place in August, 2017, the court heard that Young had met up with Jaden Rajah, 24, after the two had discussions online.

Young had initially posed as an 18-year-old, but later claimed he was 15 years old to Rajah.

Rajah testified that the intention of the meeting on Nov. 23rd was to watch a movie.

Court heard that Rajah had met up with Young at 1 a.m.

Young subsequently videotaped the encounter, where he accused Rajah of illegal acts. Rajah then denied the claims. Young later posted the video online to a Creep Catchers web site where it was shared frequently.

Crown Prosecutor Sandra Aigbinode said during her sentencing submission that the incident led to a significant impact on Rajah’s life.

She referenced two victim impact statements made by Rajah stating he now suffers from “paranoia”; he has had thoughts of suicide; and that the incident has destroyed his “chance of finding work.”

The Crown requested that Young be fined for his actions and that he be placed on probation for a period of 12 months.

During the probation, Young would be required to seek counselling, be prohibited from contact with Rajah and have no access to a device capable of connecting to the Internet.

Young would also be prohibited from possessing weapons.

Aigbinode said that Internet usage is a “privilege” and that Young’s actions have ruined someone’s life.

Collard said that while a fine is okay in this case, probation and limiting Internet usage is an unnecessary deterrence due to the fact that Young has already has not been able to access the Internet for several months, due to his pretrial release conditions.

Collard said this has made it difficult for Young to find work due to the ubiquitous nature of the Internet in modern society and employment.

Collard argued that many people are now arguing that Internet access is a human right and that it is only a privilege in countries like North Korea.

Judge Reimer will deliver the sentence in this case on January 22nd.

todd.vaughan@reddeerexpress.com

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