A A

The Conception Bay South tattoo artist who harassed a man to the point that he lived in fear should go to prison, the Crown said today.

In her submissions at Ken Power’s sentencing hearing at provincial court in St. John’s, Jennifer Colford said what Power did was wrong. She said the courts need to denounce his behaviour and send a message about such vigilante justice.

A supporter of Ken Power displays his T-shirt outside provincial court in St. John’s today.

Power — who left Facebook and phone messages for a man he said he believed raped a friend — was found guilty of a single count of criminal harassment following a trial earlier this month.

Today, Colford recommended Judge Mike Madden sentence Power to two to four months behind bars. He said once he’s released, he should be subject to a 12-18 probation order, with conditions that he have no contact with the victim, his family or people at his workplace.

Power’s lawyer, Keri-Lynn Power, however, said Power — who is a first-time offender — should get a discharge, either absolute or conditional, with the same conditions.

A discharge would mean while there would be a finding of guilt, no conviction would officially be registered. With an absolute discharge, an application for a clean letter of conduct can be filed a year later, while with a conditional discharge, a clean letter of conduct can be filed three years later if the individual adheres to the conditions listed during sentencing.

Power — who left Facebook and phone messages for a man he said he believed raped a friend — was found guilty of a single count of criminal harassment following a trial earlier this month.

Power admitted that between Feb. 9 and March 24, 2017, he wrote posts on the man’s employer’s Facebook page and voicemail, claiming the man violently raped a female friend.

“Condom or no condom, buddy! Yeah, I know what you did,” was Power’s first post on the company’s page on Feb. 9.



About half an hour later, the man sent Power a personal message on Facebook messenger, saying, “I’m not sure who you are but I think you have me confused with someone.”

Power replied, “I think you’re confused if you think I’m going to (let) you away with what you did.”



The man told Power he had no idea what he was talking about.



Power then asked him if he lived on a certain street and named the street.



“What?” the man replied. “Look man, you’ve clearly got the wrong guy, whatever you’re thinking.”



Power then said, “Sleep tight.”



When the man hired a lawyer and a letter was sent to Power to inform him that legal action would be taken if he didn’t stop, Power replied, “Only the guilty lawyer up. … See you soon.”



During the trial, the complainant testified that after the messages were sent, he feared for his life. He said he had to move out of his house, he changed his parking spot at work and slept with a knife.



Power insisted the man deserved it for raping the woman — which the man vehemently denies.



The defence said sending Power to jail would send the wrong message to victims of sexual assault. She said even though Power knew what he was doing was legally wrong, he was standing up for a friend, who he believed had been victimized.



“Are you saying I should, in any way, condone (Power’s actions)?” Madden asked Keri-Lynn Power.



“No,” she replied, but said jailing Power could deter sexual assault victims from coming forward.



She went on to say that a conviction in and of itself is denunciation enough.



“I don’t agree with incarceration,” she said. “It’s not appropriate in this case... He’s apologized for his actions and said he poses no risk to the public.”



Madden will render his decision Feb. 14.



The small courtroom was filled with about a dozen of Power’s supporters, some wearing T-shirts with a caricature of Power. When Madden entered the courtroom to start proceedings, he expressed his anger with the shirts and ordered they be covered. Those who wore the shirts did so.



Outside court following proceedings, Power and his lawyer told reporters they had absolutely no idea the shirts would be worn.



Later, in a message to The Telegram, Keri-Lynn Power said it turns out the shirts were not worn to try and influence the judge. She said they are essentially uniforms for Power's employees, who were headed to work following proceedings.

Twitter: TelyRosie