Social media can be a great tool to communicate with people, but when that communication turns into threats and harassment, the court system usually becomes involved.
Oleksy Osypenko, 27, from Regina, appeared in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on May 24, where he pleaded guilty to one charge of uttering threats online against an ex-girlfriend. However, sentencing was adjourned to June 1 to give Judge Brian Hendrickson time to decide whether the Reginan should receive a suspended sentence or a conditional discharge.
A suspended sentence imposes a criminal record on a person, while a conditional discharge does not leave a criminal record if the person fulfills court orders.
Case facts
Osypenko and his girlfriend had known each other since they were teenagers and dated briefly in Saskatchewan before she moved to Montreal, Quebec, in 2015, which led him to harass the woman through social media before police ordered him to stop, Judge Hendrickson said while discussing the facts.
After briefly stopping, Osypenko began harassing his ex-girlfriend again through social media between April 2017 and July 2019. While the communication was irregular, and months passed between some messages, it was persistent — sometimes 30 messages in a day — and continued over the years, the judge continued.
“The accused did not threaten the complainant, but the messages communicated were of a concerning nature,” he said. “For example, the accused talked of harming himself. He said in one message that he was unsure if he loved or hated the complainant, and in another message, he said he was hurt that the complainant had a boyfriend.”
The woman eventually filed a complaint with Montreal police in July 2019; Osypenko did not message her again.
Future endeavours
Osypenko is attending Saskatchewan Polytechnic and wants a job in the cybersecurity field, but his defence counsel argued in May that a criminal record could prevent him from acquiring such a job, the judge said.
“Mr. Osypenko has expressed remorse and has prepared an apology letter for the complainant. In the letter, he apologizes for the suffering he caused her due to his inability to move on from the relationship because of his addiction,” Judge Hendrickson continued.
“He says in the last two years of college (that) he is constantly working on maintaining sobriety and other forms of good health. … At the time of the offences, he was an addict and suffered from mental health issues.”
Sentencing decision
Judge Hendrickson noted that the sentence must act as a deterrent to similar behaviour, be proportional, and consider the aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Some aggravating circumstances in this issue include Osypenko’s previous criminal record, the fact the threats occurred over several years and sometimes many times a day, and that he harassed his ex-girlfriend despite orders to stop.
“His continued communication … was selfish,” the judge remarked.
Some mitigating circumstances include Osypenko entering a guilty plea, taking responsibility and eliminating the need for a trial, positively changing his life over two years, taking treatment, going to school, having supportive parents, and not contacting the woman anymore and expressing remorse.
Judge Hendrickson decided that Osypenko should receive a conditional discharge with 20 months of probation. The judge thought this sentence was in the public’s best interest and acted as a general deterrence.
“He can learn from this experience … and become a law-abiding citizen,” Hendrickson said.
The judge also ordered that Osypenko be prohibited from owning or possessing firearms, weapons, ammunition or explosives during the next 10 years.
