MONTREAL - A Montreal man has been granted bail after being charged with threatening celebrities.
Jean-Francois Champagne, 21, was in court Thursday morning to face six charges of criminal harassment, and two charges of uttering threats, related to his online activities.
He is accused of using the online name 'jeffsabres' to harass and intimidate Quebec celebrities, including Guy A. Lepage, the well-known host of Tout le monde en parle.
Champagne is accused of conducting these acts over a six-week period, that was documented by other users of social media websites before police intervened.
When asked why the alleged actions were not considered freedom of speech, Crown prosecutors said it was a fine line between being a pain and committing a criminal act.
Under his bail conditions Champagne is not allowed to use a computer, go on the internet, or approach any of the people he is accused of harassing.
His personal computer was seized Tuesday by police
According to media consultant Michelle Blanc the notes that referenced here contained, "all sorts of content that you could not repeat on television."
She says that remains uncomfortable knowing that Champagne is out on bail.
Others insulted by notes from the same pseudonomically entitled Jeff Sabres include TV personaliy Veronique Cloutier as well as hockey star Max Pacioretty.
Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, both comedians, found nothing funny about the threatening notes that targeted them.
The comments were made through the Twitter microblogging platform and it is said to be the first time criminal charges have resulted from comments posted on the site.
But it's far from the first time cyberbullying has resulted in criminal charges.
On Wednesday March 30, 2011 a man named Daniel Lesciewicz was sentenced to 12-years in prison for blackmailing teenage girls and hacking into their private accounts.
