Reasons for Sentence (2022-02-25)

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File No: 244069-8-B

Registry: Vancouver

In the Provincial Court of British Columbia

REGINA

v.

PATRICK HENRY FOX

ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE
OF
THE HONOURABLE JUDGE KATHRYN DENHOFF

BAN ON PUBLICATION 486.5(1) CCC

Crown Counsel: Chris Johnson

Appearing on his own behalf: Patrick Fox

Place of Hearing: Vancouver, B.C.

Date of Judgment: February 25, 2022

221005.Feb 25 22.RFS

J.C. WordAssist Ltd. (Port Coquitlam)

202-2608 Shaughnessy St., Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3C 3G6

Phone 778-285-3425

[1]

THE COURT: Mr. Fox is being sentenced for breaching condition 6 of the probation order of Judge Rideout, issued on April 12, 2021.

[2]

As described in my reasons for judgment issued earlier today, the condition required Mr. Fox to ensure, within 48 hours of his release from custody, that a website concerning his ex-spouse with a domain of www.desicapuano.com is no longer available via the internet or other means. Mr. Fox failed to comply with that condition.

[3]

By way of background, on November 10, 2017, Mr. Fox was convicted by a Supreme Court jury for criminally harassing his former spouse, Desiree Capuano. He was also convicted on that date for being in possession of a firearms at a place other than where he was authorized to possess them.

Nothing Denhoff says in this paragraph is actually a fact for which she has any knowledge. She's just reciting the nonsense bullshit Justice Heather Holmes wrote in her Reasons for Sentence (RFS) on the criminal harassment case. If you've not reviewed Holmes' bullshit diatribe, along with my embedded commentary containing proof that much of what Holmes was saying was complete bullshit, then I highly recommend you do.

This is an example of the delusional mentality of Canadian justice system participants: The fact that another judge previously said something happened is sufficient proof that that something did actually happen, even if the physical reality proves it could not have happened. For example, in her RFS, Holmes said that Desiree feared for her safety because Desiree believed I was going to go to Arizona and murder her; then Desiree later said in her Victim Impact Statement (VIS) that she never believed I would actually go to Arizona. When I pointed that out to Holmes at my sentencing, Holmes' refused to accept that Desiree said that in her VIS even though it was right there, on the page, in Desiree's own words.

[4]

The criminal harassment of Ms. Capuano took place between January 11, 2015 and May 27, 2016 and involved an orchestrated campaign by Mr. Fox to harass Ms. Capuano to the point of trying to drive her to suicide. He sent hundreds of emails to Ms. Capuano and several other emails to people she knew. He also created a website in her name on which he has disseminated information which was intended to embarrass Ms. Capuano, undermined her relationship with her family, friends, employers and colleagues, ruin her financially and intimidate her. Further details of the harassment which caused Ms. Capuano to lose friends, colleagues and employment are contained in the sentencing reasons of Madam Justice Holmes in R. v. Fox, 2017 BCSC 2361.

[5]

On November 10, 2017, Justice Holmes sentenced Mr. Fox on the criminal harassment to three years' imprisonment, to be discounted by time already served, followed by probation for three years. There was a condition in the probation order which was similar to condition 6 in Judge Rideout's probation order. That condition required Mr. Fox, within 24 hours of his release from custody, to take all reasonable steps to ensure that any website, including the domain www.desireecapuano.com, is no longer accessible via the internet or by any other means.

[6]

Mr. Fox was sentenced to a further 10 months of incarceration for the firearms offence.

[7]

On June 12, 2020, Mr. Fox was convicted of breach of the probation order of Justice Holmes, in relation to his attendance at the U.S./Canada border and he was given a sentence of 12 months' incarceration, plus probation for 18 months.

[8]

On August 19, 2020, a further probation order was made by Judge Phillips when sentencing Mr. Fox for a breach of the condition that he ensure that the website www.desicapuano.com is no longer available via the internet or other means. The new probation order by Judge Phillips also contained a similar condition.

[9]

When Mr. Fox was released from custody on August 20, 2020, after being sentenced by Judge Phillips and while bound by the probation condition discussed, he placed an open letter to the then attorney general, David Eby, on the website, noting that he was required by law to take down the website. He stated in the letter:

They can lock me up for the rest of my life but I will never take down the website.

[10]

The website was still operational as of September 16, 2020. Mr. Fox was sentenced by Judge Rideout on April 12, 2021 for the breach and given a custodial sentence of 16 months and 15 days and a further probation order for 12 months. That probation order also contained a condition similar to the condition previously imposed by Justice Holmes on November 10, 2017 and by Judge Phillips on August 18, 2020.

[11]

Therefore, since June 2020, Mr. Fox has now been convicted of three separate breaches of conditions in probation orders. He has been twice convicted of a condition requiring him to ensure that the website www.desicapuano.com by which he criminally harassed his former spouse for over a year in 2015 and 2016 is no longer available via the internet or by any other means.

[12]

It is difficult to determine a sentence which would deter Mr. Fox from continuing to breach probation orders, especially since he has publicly stated that he will never remove the website.

[13]

Mr. Fox has a criminal record in Canada only for the offences related to his criminal harassment of his former spouse and the breaches of the probation orders.

[14]

As noted, his last sentence by Judge Rideout was 16 months and 15 days, plus a one-year probation order which is due to expire in August 2021.

[15]

The Crown is seeking a sentence today of 12 months' incarceration and three years' probation. The Crown prosecutor explains that the length of the probation order is more helpful in ensuring that Mr. Fox will not continue to harass his former spouse and to publish negative information about her than is the period of incarceration.

[16]

It has been remarked on in many judgments concerning Mr. Fox that he is an intelligent and capable individual. He worked in information technology and it was that knowledge which enabled him to harass his former spouse so extensively through the internet.

[17]

The fundamental purpose of sentencing is to protect society, including Mr. Fox's former spouse. There are six main objectives in sentencing, including denouncing the offending conduct, deterring the offender and others from criminal conduct, separating the offender from society when necessary, rehabilitating the offender, making reparation to victims or the community and fostering the offender's acknowledgement of responsibility and of the harm to victims in society.

[18]

So far, Mr. Fox has been entirely resistant to offers of rehabilitation through psychiatric assessment and treatment.

False! I have consistently been completely open to participating in any psychiatric assessments the court or the prosecution wants me to participate in. However, I will only do so if the sessions are recorded and a copy of the recording is provided to me.

THAT has been the sticking point. The Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission (FPCS) refuses to allow the sessions to be recorded. Why? What do they have to hide?

I believe their refusal to let the sessions be recorded is because what they do is completely misrepresent what occurred during the session in order to make a false diagnosis.

In Januar 2019, I participated in a psych assessment as part of my probation on the criminal harassment sentence. The FPSC was adamant about not letting me bring any recording devices into the office. They made me leave my coat, laptop bag, phone, and any other electronics devices in the reception area. But I was able to sneak a recorder in anyway, and I recorded the session and published it on this website Psych Assessment Interview. Obviously, since the interview was published, they were not able to make a false diagnosis and the psychiatrist had to admit, in his report, that there were no indications of mental illness Psych Assessment Report.

He has also been resistant to acknowledging responsibility.

[19]

In this case, where there has been an ongoing and deliberate contravention of numerous probation orders resulting in the source of the criminal harassment of the victim to continue to be available to the public, the primary principles of sentencing must be denunciation, deterrence and separating the offender from society when necessary.

[20]

In all of the circumstances, it is my view that an appropriate sentence is 12 months' incarceration, to be followed by a three-year probation order.

[21]

The probation will be as follows: You will keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

[22]

You will appear before the court when required to do so.

[23]

You will report to a probation officer at 275 East Cordova Street, in Vancouver, British Columbia, within 72 hours of your release from custody, only for the purpose of informing the probation officer at that time of the exact steps you have taken to comply with the following condition of this probation order: That within 48 hours of your release from custody, you shall take all necessary steps to ensure that any website, social media page or any other publication which you have authored, created, maintained or contributed to, which contains any information, statements, comments, videos, pictures which refer to or depict by name or description Desiree Capuano or any of her friends, relatives, employers or coworkers, including the websites published under the domains www.desireecapuano.com and www.desicapuano.com, are no longer available via the internet or any other means.

[24]

Once you have reported the exact steps that you have taken to comply with that condition, you will no longer be required to report to a probation officer.

[25]

You shall have no contact or communication, directly or indirectly, with Desiree Capuano or any of her friends, relatives, employers, or co-workers.

[26]

You shall not disseminate, distribute, publish, or make publicly available, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, information, statements, comments, videos of photographs which refer to or depict, by name or description, Desiree Capuano, or any of her friends, relatives, employers or co-workers.

[27]

Any other conditions that you are seeking --

[28]

CNSL C. JOHNSON: No, thank you, Your Honour.

[29]

THE COURT: -- Mr. Johnson?

[30]

All right. Sir, you have served six months and eight days, which I will give you enhanced credit for, amounting to nine months and 12 days.

[31]

As I indicated, your period of incarceration and jail sentence is 12 months. That means that you have two months and 18 days remaining to be served. So, time served, six months eight days. Your sentence is two months 18 days. Enhanced time is nine months 12 days. Jail time that would have been imposed before credit for time served, 12 months.

[32]

Are you content with that wording, Mr. Johnson?

[33]

CNSL C. JOHNSON: Yes, I am, Your Honour.

[34]

THE COURT: Okay.

[35]

Given that you have been in custody for a lengthy period of time, I am going to waive the victim surcharge.

(REASONS CONCLUDED)