Woman testifies at alleged Twitter harasser’s trial

One of three women a Toronto man is accused of harassing on Twitter testified about their social media relationship which quickly turned sour in mid-2012.

Gregory Elliott, 52, was arrested on Nov. 21, 2012, after Stephanie Guthrie claimed he continued to contact her after she backed out of a proposed business deal and blocked him on Twitter in July 2012. More charges were laid against Elliott in January 2013 after two other women came forward.

Guthrie, who the Toronto court heard Thursday is a political feminist, met Elliott on Twitter in early 2012 and the two began talking about a graphic design project.

The court heard that she is a prolific tweeter because that’s how she shares her opinions about feminism with a wider audience and that their tweets started out friendly.

She eventually met Elliott for dinner to discuss some graphic design work for her political organization, Women in Toronto Politics.

Guthrie said she was “creeped out” because he leaned across the table a lot and seemed egotistical and intense. When she later told him he would not be designing her group’s logo, he was angry, she told the court.

In reviewing 2,000 tweets between the two, the court heard that Elliott offered to drive her when she broke her ankle as well as drive her to Muskoka, offers which Guthrie turned down.

They also disagreed about how to respond to a man on Twitter who had made a violent video game where players punch a feminist in the face.

“The relationship is unravelling,” Guthrie said in a tweet. “If you think it’s revenge, you’re not paying attention, I’ve had it with you.”

She then blocks him from her Twitter account in July 2012 but he can still communicate with her by tagging her in a tweet to others. And her friends tell her that he is still following her group and tweeting about her.

“I felt creeped out that he was still following our group,” she told the court.

A number of her friends then confront Elliott through Twitter about his harassing feminists and Guthrie says, “We let him know we didn’t think his behaviour was acceptable.”

Guthrie tells court that Elliott used the hashtag fascist feminists.

“It was starting to seem a little bit crazy. He seemed fixated on me and I was feeling a bit stalked,” she said.

Elliott’s trial for criminal harassment and breaching a peace bond began on Tuesday.

Det. Jeff Bangild told the court on Tuesday that he did not find any outward threats of harm in the tweets Elliott sent around November 2012.

With files from Marianne Boucher

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