Okanagan man's offensive Facebook video doesn't break the law: RCMP | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Okanagan man's offensive Facebook video doesn't break the law: RCMP

Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK

CONTENT ADVISORY

OKANAGAN - A Lake Country man’s Facebook posts and videos about young girls may be disturbing, inappropriate and offensive, but they aren’t criminal, according to police.

The posts are sexual in nature and contain references to children. One video, which has since been removed, features a song called “Amber Alert” where the man sings the following lyrics (be warned, they are graphic): “I’m savage and I want her, about to ravage your daughter, I smell her placenta and I am about to enter. I want her young body, want to hear her crying, crying for help, but no one’s coming… It’s an amber alert.”

The man, who iNFOnews.ca has chosen not to identify — simply put, he has received enough attention already — later posted an apology on his Facebook page and said he has “sexual health issues” and wants to “get better and achieve intimacy and relationships again.” He did not respond to a request for an interview.

Many people have commented on the man’s Facebook profile, which is now host to a mixture of death threats and suggestions that he seek professional help. 

Kelowna RCMP confirm they were contacted by several people regarding the Facebook page. Spokesperson Cpl. Tania Carroll says in a written statement police have been in contact with the man.
 
“This investigation is ongoing, however there have been no criminal offences committed by this individual. Definitely inappropriate but not criminal,” Carroll says.

Follow up questions by iNFOnews.ca, including whether there is believed to be any threat towards children and if parents should be concerned, were directed to B.C. RCMP communications, who have yet to provide a response.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 

Kamloops defence lawyer Brad Smith says the video “Amber Alert” may be in bad taste, but it’s not violating the Criminal Code of Canada.

“Certainly the content and lyrics are offensive, but are they criminal? Probably not,” he says.

Criminal law in Canada is generally reactive, Smith says, meaning it deals with things that have happened in the past, or are happening, not things that are potentially going to occur. And it’s important the law stays that way, he says.

“I think every citizen should be concerned about the slippery slope that emerges when you have state actors starting to prohibit things you may or may not do in the future. That’s a dangerous road to go down. It leads to some dark places. I think everybody should be concerned about the potential exercise of that kind of power,” Smith says.

He says this situation highlights the tension between two important values in our society: the right to freedom of expression, and the socially accepted need to protect vulnerable members of society, in this case, young girls.

“There’s a distinction to be drawn whether something arguably violates the law, and whether it’s the right thing to do,” Smith says. “It’s one thing to express unpopular political views or unpopular positions in debate, but to be engaged in this sort of act is arguably of very much reduced value in our society. It’s disruptive, as is evident from these responses on social media. It doesn’t encourage harmonious relationships between people.”

He points out that while the video itself does not appear to be a criminal act, some of the commenters may be breaking the law themselves.

“Some of the responses are violations of the criminal law of uttering threats. They are clearly targeting this individual for potential violence,” Smith says. “One of the things our law quite rightly reacts very strongly to is vigilante justice. We live in a society subject to the rule of law — that is something that protects us all. Resorting to vigilante justice remedies is not appropriate, ever. And the law quite rightly will be coming down harshly on that.”

DON’T LIKE IT? DON’T LOOK AT IT

If you reported the content to Facebook, you may have received this response: “Thanks for letting us know about this. We reviewed the video, and though it doesn't go against one of our specific Community Standards, you did the right thing by letting us know about it. We understand that it may still be offensive or distasteful to you, so we want to help you see less of things like it in the future.”

That’s the reply one local member of the public received when she complained about the material. iNFOnews.ca requested an interview with Facebook but has not yet received a response.

The message sent to the concerned citizen, which was shared with iNFOnews.ca, goes on to explain how to block the Facebook user directly, unfriend him or unfollow him.

“If you find that a person, group or Page consistently posts things you don’t want to see, you may want to limit how often you see their posts or remove them from your Facebook experience,” Facebook says.

It does appear that Facebook may have removed one post, however. The man says in a June 19 post that he’s “gotten rid of 2 of the 3 posts of the child athlete at the mother’s request. The 3rd post must have been flagged and taken down by Facebook.”

He also sounds like he may have learned his lesson. 

"Sorry again for being so inappropriate," he says. "I’m already suffering the consequences of my choice to upload that distasteful song and will continue to suffer the consequences for most likely the remainder of my adult and professional life."


To contact a reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston or call 250-309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

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