Canadian Cyberstalker Jailed

An Alberta man who used the Internet to wreak havoc in his ex-girlfriend’s life was recently convicted of criminal harassment and sentenced to one year in jail. The accused, Jonathan Barnes, installed keystroke logging software on his girlfriend’s computer; from there he obtained passwords and other information that gave him unrestricted access to virtually all aspects of her life. Barnes’ activities included: accessing her phone records and email accounts; pretending to be her on Internet chatrooms (such that strangers would phone her, thinking that she had asked them to call); distributing nude photos of her from a fake email account in her name; accessing her bank accounts; and, withdrawing her from college.

These activities would obviously have a serious impact on anyone’s day to day life, and indeed Barnes’ victim had to move homes, change phones, change jobs, and even change her Social Insurance Number, in an attempt to escape the harassment. Because this type of cyberstalking has such serious and far-reaching effects, the judge determined that Barnes’ actions were as serious as a physical assault, and that a one-year jail sentence was warranted, even though such sentences are rare in cases of criminal harassment where the accused has no previous criminal record.

For additional information, visit:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060317/cyber_stalk_060317/20060317?hub=SciTech

Volume IV

Canadian Cyberstalker Jailed