Ex-wife used sarcasm, insults to stop online harassment, trial hears

VANCOUVER — A woman who says her ex-husband harassed her online for years told a B.C. Supreme Court jury she resorted to insults and sarcasm as a defence against his attacks.

Patrick Fox faces two charges, including criminal harassment, over online communications and publications aimed at his ex-wife Desiree Capuano.

The court has heard the alleged harassment consisted of caustic emails spanning years and a website that shared Capuano’s personal information, including her address and personal photos. The website also referred to Capuano as a white supremacist, child abuser and drug addict, the trial heard.

Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Capuano said one of the ways she addressed the harassment was by “giving it back” with insults or sarcasm in her replies to Fox’s emails.  

“At this point, I didn’t feel like it mattered what I did,” she told the jury. “But at least I wasn’t just taking it lying down. It felt like I was getting beat up every day by the emails.”

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Capuano has given most of her testimony behind a screen that separates her from Fox. On Tuesday, the screen was briefly removed while she identified Fox as the author of numerous emails sent to her.

Fox is representing himself at the trial, but the court has appointed defence layer Tony Lagemaat to cross-examine Capuano in Fox’s place.

Lagemaat read out a number of email exchanges in court, including some where Capuano calls Fox an “impotent child,” insults his intelligence and says Fox’s actions portray him as a “stalker ex-boyfriend.”

Capuano responded that the harsh words were meant to show Fox that she was strong and she hoped that if she stood up for herself, he would back down.

“I know how I felt when he insulted me,” she testified. “I know that I didn’t want to keep going … I thought that maybe if I presented the same thing, he might not want to face it.”

Capuano admitted there were times when she allowed her emotions to get away from her, but said swapping insults back-and-forth was not an enjoyable pursuit.

“None of this was a game. This was my life,” she said.

Lagemaat challenged Capuano about why she continued to engage and even provoke her former partner.

“Did you ever wonder what would happen if you just stopped?” he asked. 

“I tried that,” Capuano replied. “It didn’t work. He just kept escalating.”

Lagemaat said her replies showed she was not afraid of Fox.

Capuano strongly disagreed, saying she was defending herself, noting that Fox had copied their teenage son on a series of emails where he allegedly wrote that he would shoot Capuano if shooting someone was not morally wrong and illegal.

“I’m not threatening his life,” Capuano said. “There might be insults, but there are no threats. This is defence.”

Fox also faces one charge of possession of firearms in a place where he was not authorized to do so.

— Follow @gkarstenssmith on Twitter

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press