Salmon Arm dentist jailed for ‘abusive and demeaning’ social media posts

CONTENT ADVISORY

A Salmon Arm dentist who was ordered not to post on social media about his ex-wife and family during his divorce proceedings will spend the next 15 weekends in jail, having been found in contempt of court.

BC Supreme Court Justice Richard Hewson sentenced Robert Johnson to 45 days’ jail, served intermittently at the weekends, saying his posts were “abusive and demeaning” and often contained “thinly veiled malice” as he lashed out at his ex-wife, her new partner, her lawyer and the judge who granted the divorce.

“Defiance of court orders, veiled threats, and expressions of disdain for the court process are parts of a pattern of conduct aimed at maintaining power and undermining the autonomy, well being, and stability of (his ex-wife) and other participants in a litigation,” Justice Hewson said in a June 9 decision. “The persistent social media posts are flagrant breaches that tend to ensure that the targets remain in a constant state of uncertainty and stress, and tend to make the litigation itself unpredictable and intimidating.”

In January, Johnson was fined $100,000 for breaching court orders and told he would likely be imprisoned for contempt of court if he kept on with his behaviour. Months earlier, he’d been told his behaviour in court was some of the worst the Justice had ever seen.

However, Johnson continued posting daily.

“She is just an evil, corrupt piece of shit that needs to be dealt with accordingly,” Johnson wrote about the judge who granted the divorce and fined him $100,000. 

“Fuck court orders. None of this should be done in court. It is time for these abusive pieces of shit to be held accountable by their friends,” said another post.

When reached for comment by iNFOnews.ca just hours before Johnson was due to present himself at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre for a weekend in a jail cell, the dentist repeated much of the same rhetoric he said in court and online, claiming he was the real victim.

Even heading to jail, he said he didn’t regret his actions.

“My whole point of everything that I’ve done is to expose this for what it is,” Johnson said. “The fraud and the corruption. The illegal behaviour that goes on in these criminal family courts.”

Last November, several years after his wife had left him and asked for a divorce, the case went to trial, giving Johnson a chance to prove his allegations.

“I emphasize that at that trial, Johnson had nine days in which to present his evidence, make his arguments, and prove his allegations. He did not do so, and as a result, he was unsuccessful,” Justice Hewson said.

In a scathing decision, Justice Francesca Marzari ruled that Johnson had taken part in an “unprecedented campaign of threats and harassment” against his wife and her new partner.

“Particularly prominent in this case are the elements of psychological and emotional abuse… which involve intimidation, harassment, coercion and threats to other persons and the intentional damage to property,” Justice Francesca Marzari said in the Jan. 29 decision. “I find that (Johnson) has engaged in a pattern of yelling at the children, including belittling them, because he is unable to control or manage his anger at them, their mother, or the world more generally. His uncontrolled anger has been further fuelled by external media content, from which he has found validation.”

The Justice found Johnson had called his children “idiots” or “retarded” and that no one loved them.

In granting the divorce, the Justice ordered Johnson to pay a $100,000 fine, which would be halved if he stayed off social media.

“Instead, Johnson has continued to post to social media, and the volume and persistence of the post‑trial social posts is remarkable,” Justice Hewson said.

He used the acronym for “fuck around and find out” and repeated the phrase “to the ground.”

“The social media posts attacking the trial judge were rude, insulting, and demeaning. They went far beyond the sort of thoughtful criticism that judges welcome. They even went beyond the strident and harsh criticism that is accepted in countries where citizens are guaranteed free speech, and crossed the line into contempt,” the Justice said. 

While the social media posts landed Johnson in prison, Justice Hewson notes there is little evidence the posts had any influence on anyone other than those involved in the case. The majority of his Facebook posts have no comments and very few “likes.”

Justice Hewson said the court order was in place to give Johnson’s ex-wife protection.

“Instead of complying with those orders and allowing them that protection, Johnson treated the orders with open disdain. He did not merely fail to comply, he acted as if the orders did not apply to him and as if he were at liberty to disregard them,” the Justice said. “His conduct reflects a deliberate and public rejection of the authority of the court. The contemptuous breaches were intentional and defiant. Johnson has made no secret of his intention to disobey the court orders. Posting a statement like ‘fuck court orders’ could not be more defiant.”

He told the court, “I am in a scorched earth campaign against this institution.”

Justice Hewson said the dentist’s conduct struck at the heart of the rule of law.

“Court orders are binding on those to whom they are directed… parties are not entitled to decide for themselves which orders they will obey,” the Justice said.

“The persistent social media posts are flagrant breaches that tend to ensure that the targets remain in a constant state of uncertainty and stress, and tend to make the litigation itself unpredictable and intimidating,” the Justice said, adding that it drains the other party of time, energy, and emotional resources.

After being fined more than $100,000 Johnson said he couldn’t afford to pay a further fine.

“I am left with the last option, which is committing Johnson to custody and sending him to jail,” the Justice said.

While Johnson said he didn’t have any money, he made a last-minute plea.

“I do have some cash that I’ve taken out over the last little while in case the government tries to start stealing all my money for taxes and stuff,” he told the court. “Can I put down some security instead of serving this jail time?”

Justice Hewson refused the offer, ordering him to spend 6 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m Sunday in a jail cell for the next 15 weeks.