Jody Vance's online harassment suspect arrested

Radio News from British Columbia

Jody Vance's online harassment suspect arrested

Postby radiofan » Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:36 pm

Broadcaster Jody Vance says she feels relief after suspect arrested following years of online harassment
MIKE HAGER
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 15, 2021 UPDATED 1 DAY AGO


Image
Broadcaster Jody Vance says she hopes other journalists will catalogue every interaction and report them to their employers and local police.
AMIR ALI/COURTESY OF JODY VANCE

Jody Vance felt it was important to respond when, in 2015, a listener accused her of being a liberal snowflake spreading false news about Donald Trump.

The fill-in talk-radio host on Vancouver’s CKNW had made a point of respectfully replying to her audience throughout her broadcasting career – including her years at Sportsnet, where she was the first woman in Canadian history to helm her own prime-time sports show. But the man’s e-mails grew more aggressive. In 2016, she let him know that their conversation was over.

“That’s when the ‘ALL CAPS’ e-mails came into play,” she said recently.

Ms. Vance agreed to speak with The Globe because her alleged harasser was arrested at the end of last month, and has signed an undertaking with the Vancouver Police Department in which he agreed not to contact her before a court date in the new year.

Government and Big Tech must tackle online harassment against journalists

Because of her experience, Ms. Vance said, she wants to promote public discussion, as journalists – particularly those who are women or people of colour – are being hit with an intensifying wave of hate on politically polarized online platforms.

Ms. Vance said she hopes other journalists will do what she initially didn’t: catalogue every interaction and report them to their employers and local police. In her case, the criminal justice system is working, she said, but it takes far too long to win justice for complainants.

“I put it in my mind that it would make me somehow high-maintenance, and I’ve learned that’s not the case,” Ms. Vance said.

She had been stalked and harassed before. Shortly after she arrived in Toronto, in 2000, one man repeatedly mailed her typed letters professing his undying love for her. Another would write to “his princess” in green ink and send her four-leaf clovers in Ziploc bags. She said her employer reported these things to the police at the time.

A third incident shook up her life entirely. Someone broke into her third-floor attic apartment while she was sleeping, moved her things around, and then left without stealing anything. That week, she moved into a high-rise condo with a 24-hour security guard.

When it came to the e-mail harasser, Ms. Vance spent years trying to handle the problem on her own.

Read the full story at: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/can ... ssion=true
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
User avatar
radiofan
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 13719
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:24 pm
Location: Keremeos, BC

Return to British Columbia

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 148 guests