Man, 52, charged with harassment for Twitter messages
Posted November 22, 2012 8:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – A stream of unwanted tweets led to the arrest of a 52-year-old Toronto man, Toronto police said.
Police allege that Gregory Alan Elliott met the complainant in April on Twitter. The woman confirmed her identity on Twitter as Stephanie Guthrie.
Guthrie and Elliott began discussing graphic design for an upcoming community event.
But the woman became concerned with the accused’s online behaviour, according to police, and told him she would seek help elsewhere.
“The accused then began harassing the complainant through Twitter,” police said.
In August, the woman told the accused to halt all communication with her but he continued to tweet and the woman began to fear for her safety, according to police.
On Twitter, Guthrie said she learned that blocking a user on the micro-blogging website does not prevent the user from tagging someone in tweets.
She tweeted Wednesday: “In anticipation of any ‘you just did this to prove a point’ criticisms, I did this bc he was making me feel unsafe/miserable. Worth noting.”
Elliott is charged with criminal harassment and breach of a peace bond.
Police believe there may be other victims and are asking anyone with further information to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers.
