Fake e-mail to other employees results in criminal mischief conviction

An Ontario employee has been convicted of criminal mischief after sending a fake e-mail to fellow employees, degrading another co-worker.

The employee, apparently upset that the co-worker rejected his request that they be more than friends, sent an e-mail to nine other employees, purportedly from the female co-worker. The e-mail degraded the co-worker professionally, sexually and physically.

The employee pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.

The employee also pleaded guilty to separate criminal harassment charges, apparently unrelated to the workplace. He received a suspended sentence and two years’ probation on the mischief charge, and 90 days’ imprisonment (in addition to 2 months’ time served) on the criminal harassment charge.

R. v. Dewan, 2014 ONCA 755

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Adrian Miedema

About Adrian Miedema

Adrian is a partner in the Toronto Employment group of Dentons Canada LLP. He advises and represents public- and private-sector employers in employment, health and safety and human rights matters. He appears before employment tribunals and all levels of the Ontario courts on behalf of employers. He also advises employers on strategic and risk management considerations in employment policy and contracts.

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