Man accused of sexual assault faces online ‘hatred,’ lawyer says

A court-ordered ban on naming a man facing sexual assault charges needs to stay intact because he is facing “incitement of hatred” and “violence,” a defence lawyer argues.

“A woman, who he doesn’t know, is stopping her car, giving him the finger and throwing snowballs at him,” the man’s lawyer Alan Regel told an Iqaluit court Thursday. “It’s a random act of violence that I suggest clearly comes from the publicity.”

The man faces charges as an adult, but he is also facing historical criminal allegations from a period before he was 18. The Youth Criminal Justice Act, however, prohibits media from publishing his name or any identifying details related to the allegations from his youth.

But on April 11, Justice of the Peace Amanda Soper extended that ban to all the charges after hearing an oral request from Regel. That ban prevents Nunatsiaq News from publishing the man’s name.

Crown prosecutor Stephanie Boydell called the order “illegal” during a May 1 hearing. Judge Christian Lyons, who is presiding over the hearing, agreed that Soper imposed the discretionary ban “without jurisdiction.”

Yet, the issue has resulted in a month-long litigation. Alyssa Holland, a lawyer representing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, says the ban constitutes an infringement on freedom of expression and the court’s openness.

But Regel says lifting the publication ban would infringe on his client’s right for a fair trial and possibly lead to “jury contamination.”

Along with what Regel described as the “snowball incident,” he argued his client — who pleaded not guilty to all charges — was a victim of “widespread hatred” and “co-ordinated” attacks on social media and from mainstream media.

Crown prosecutor Carleen Ready says the man has no case for a “total ban” on the publication of his name and the details of the trial for his adult charges.

“[The accused] has not satisfied the legal test for the extraordinary relief that he seeks,” she said, suggesting that a partial ban on his name but not on the details of the trial could be an “alternative.”

Holland disagreed.

She said this matter has no legal basis for a discretionary publication ban on any details of his adult charges.

“It amounts to a request that the accused effectively be tried in secret,” she said of Regel’s arguments.

Holland also argued the ban will impact the traditional news media but questioned whether such a ban can be “enforced” on social media.

With that, it’s important for the media to be able to provide factual information on the proceedings, she said

“To the extent this case may have received attention on social media, in my submission, that only reinforces the importance of allowing traditional media outlets like CBC and APTN to report on it,” Holland argued.

The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, with Lyons set to make a decision.