A police constable who harassed her ex-boyfriend and his wife for a year through Facebook and used police databases while on- and off-duty may lose about seven weeks’ pay after pleading guilty Tuesday to three Police Services Act charges.

Const. Dionne Kent faced two charges of insubordination and one for discreditable conduct, for offences that took place between December 2011 and December 2012.

At a police tribunal hearing at the Toronto police College St. headquarters, Kent dabbed at her red eyes with tissues before standing in her police uniform to enter a plea of guilty on all charges.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” said Kent, who has served with Toronto police since 1999 and is currently on uniformed patrol in North York’s 33 Division.

Her lawyer, Maureen Salama, and the police prosecutor, Insp. Sonia Thomas, recommended jointly that Kent face eight days, 18 days and 12 days consecutively without pay for the three charges.

According to information detailed by Salama and an agreed statement of facts, Kent had been in an 11-year relationship with Brian Fleischman that ended in 2007. After briefly reconciling in 2011, she learned he was engaged to a woman who is now his wife, Brenda Fleischman.

After Brenda Fleischman complained to police, Kent’s superiors learned the officer had been using her own Facebook account and several aliases to send “harassing” and “annoying” messages to Brenda, her friends and family.

One message was sent to Brenda’s daughter, who suffers from schizophrenia, warning her not to “trust” her new stepfather. The messages caused “great distress,” according to a statement by Brenda that was read to the tribunal.

Brenda wrote that she “couldn’t take the harassment any longer,” which she said included swearing, name-calling and references to a personal situation she had tried to move past.

Even though there were never threats of harm, Brenda said she was afraid for her safety — “That someone with a gun was acting so irrationally,” she said.

After the complaint, Det. Terri Ng, a superior, ordered Kent on Oct. 29, 2012, to stop any contact with the couple.

The officer promised she would, but immediately disobeyed. That day, Kent called her ex-boyfriend and the two had a “heated” discussion.

But the messages and phone call weren’t the extent of the alleged harassment.

Kent queried internal police databases, including criminal record banks, more than 100 times while on duty, using the computers mounted to cruiser dashboards and also police work stations.

The Fleischmans complained to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, who ordered the tribunal after an investigation.

When interviewed by the police professional standards section, which conducts internal investigations, Kent admitted to searching the databases, sending the Facebook messages and calling her former partner.

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She also said she’d researched home addresses of the Fleischmans and of those associated with them using Canada411 while off duty.

“I know it looks absurd, all these checks,” Kent told the investigators of the database searches. “Why I ran them so many times, I don’t know.”

All officers must sign on to police computers using a password and token, making any searches they do instantly traceable.

Thomas, the prosecutor, said Kent’s actions showed a “wanton disregard and deliberate disobedience” of an order.

“This can only be seen as serious misconduct,” she said.

Kent’s conduct up until the end of 2011 had been mostly exemplary, her work record noted. After the offences came to light, a recent evaluation stated she lacked respect for fellow officers and fell below the level of service expected of her.

Salama, Kent’s lawyer, read a letter of apology from her client as the officer cried softly beside her. The letter noted how Kent sought counselling after the offences. It spoke of experiencing depression at the “worst period” in her life.

“Policing means the world to me,” she wrote. “Words cannot express how sorry I am.”

Thomas said stress or anxiety “cannot justify this misconduct,” which she classified as “serious.”

But she said the remorse showed by Kent served to mitigate the seriousness of the charges.

Police Services Act charges are not criminal offences. If found guilty, officers can face discipline ranging from docked pay to dismissal.

Supt. Frank Bergen, who presided over the hearing, will deliver Kent’s sentence on March 26.

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