Women’s shelter exec applauds town-wide ban of man for criminal harassment
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The rare move to ban a man from an entire town for criminally harassing his former partner is being applauded by an official at a Southwestern Ontario women’s shelter.
“Good on the judge for doing that, recognizing that that type of restriction might help,” said Jennifer Dunn, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre. “I think it’s really good.”
Sarnia-based Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski recently added a term to Shawn Campbell’s three-year probation order that comes into effect when he finishes serving a three-month jail sentence that bans him from being in the town of Petrolia. Most orders have rules preventing people from being within a certain radius of a person and their home, school or workplace that’s generally set at 100 to 500 metres.
But after both lawyers agreed banning Campbell from the entire historic oil town of about 5,000 people would be a good idea, the judge agreed to include that term.
The 42-year-old former Petrolia resident repeatedly called, texted and hung around the woman’s Petrolia home this summer despite her not wanting any contact from him. Provincial police officers were called 24 times in August about Campbell being around her home, despite the man having a police undertaking and a bail release in place banning him from being with a certain radius.
His disregard for that order is what prompted assistant Crown attorney Sarah Carmody to ask for the ban to be expanded to cover the entire town since the woman now feared for her safety.
“My home should be my sanctuary, not my prison, and having Shawn in Petrolia will make it feel as such,” the woman wrote in a statement read to the Sarnia courtroom.
Jennifer Vansteenkiste, executive director of the Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia Lambton, pointed out there have been six femicides over the past two years in Sarnia-Lambton, all inside the women’s homes.
“The survivor in this story has every reason to be afraid for her safety considering this increasing and alarming trend,” she said.
Dunn said the town-wide ban is a good next step and should give the woman confidence to do simple tasks, such as grocery shopping or checking the mail, without having to constantly look over her shoulder.
The only issue, Vansteenkiste noted, is the risk of a person on probation not adhering to the rules.
“Yeah, he can’t go to that town according to the rules, but he can also break the rules if he chooses to do so,” she said.
Campbell told the judge he has a place to stay in Sarnia with family after he’s released from jail, which is in about a week due to pre-sentence custody credit. He told the court that he has no plans on going to Petrolia.
“I will not be going there,” he said. “One of the stupidest things I’ve ever did (sic) is go to Petrolia.”
Campbell added he was in drug psychosis while harassing the woman last summer but now has a level head.
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