May 09, 2013 - 2:41 PM
Convicted criminal accused of threatening, harassing B.C. prosecutor
VICTORIA - A B.C. man who claimed the Bible gave him the right to use a rod to discipline his family is in more trouble with the law.
Darryl Bruce McDowell, who was convicted of assault 13 years ago for using what he called the "biblical rod" on his children, has been charged with threatening a prosecutor in the Criminal Justice Branch.
Because a Crown lawyer was the target of the threats, Kamloops lawyer Robert Bruneau was appointed as a special prosecutor to look into the allegations of threatening and criminal harassment against McDowell.
Bruneau approved the charges against McDowell in January and a warrant was issued, but the justice officials didn't want to announce the charges until after McDowell was arrested, which happened April 30.
McDowell told his provincial court trial in November 2000 that it was his biblical imperative to discipline his two step-children and he often used the term "Spare the road, spoil the child."
He was convicted of two counts of common assault and sentenced to six months in jail.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013