Jail time sought for London, Ont., man who posted 'horrific' photo in online battle over drag storytime

Six months of jail time is the sentence being requested for the London, Ont., man who trolled a 2SLGBTQ+ advocate by travelling to Windsor and taking a selfie with her unconscious, terminally ill father.

Bubba Christopher Pollock was in a packed Windsor courtroom on Thursday to hear sentencing submissions on a charge of criminal harassment. He pleaded guilty earlier this year.

Assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Holmes described the case as "troubling on so many levels."

"He took it so far. He took it too far," Holmes told the court. "He needs to be held accountable for what he has done."

Along with the jail time, Holmes is asking for three years of probation and an order that Pollock provide a DNA sample — although Holmes noted Pollock's DNA is already on file due to a prior conviction for a sexual offence: posting an intimate image without consent.

"This isn't Mr. Pollock's first brush with doing illegal, immoral things on the internet," Holmes said.

Pollock is a right-wing activist who has protested drag queen events. In June 2023, he clashed on social media with Brittany Leroux, a Windsor 2SLGBTQ+ advocate.

After arguing with Leroux in a Facebook comment thread, Pollock posted a photo of himself in a palliative-care room with an unconscious man in a hospital bed. The room was at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and the man was Andre Leroux — Brittany's cancer-stricken father.

Pollock learned Andre's location through news articles and travelled from London to Windsor to take the photo, without Brittany Leroux's knowledge.

According to Pollock, he wanted to bring Andre flowers.

Holmes dismissed Pollock's claim as "ridiculousness."

"He is making excuses for his horrific behaviour." 

The assistant Crown attorney said Pollock is entitled to his own beliefs on drag queens and drag "storytime" events — but he is not entitled to harmful acts, such as what he did.

"It was a rotten gesture, and it was intended to be a rotten gesture," Holmes said.

Ron Ellis, Pollock's lawyer, is asking that his client be given a suspended sentence with probation — which would involve community service, but no jail time.

Ellis further asked that if a suspended sentence is unavailable, the judge should consider a conditional sentence (house arrest).

According to Ellis, his client's guilty plea is a sign of remorse.

Ellis described Pollock as a man with "chronic issues" including attention deficit disorder and concussion symptoms.

While Ellis acknowledged Pollock's act as criminal, irrational, and misguided, he said his client engaged in "impulsivity" to "win an argument."

Holmes countered that the suggestion the deed was impulsive is "ludicrous."

She pointed to the round-trip travel distance between London and Windsor — 388 kilometres — as well as the effort and research required to find out Andre Leroux's care facility and exact hospital room.

Pollock had "so many opportunities to recognize what he was doing was horrific," Holmes said.

As for the guilty plea being an indication of remorse, Holmes pointed to the incriminating nature of the Crown's evidence. "When you've got a photograph of yourself, it's a fairly strong case."

Pollock declined the opportunity to speak in court.

Brittany Leroux took to the witness stand to provide a victim impact statement — which was interrupted by an online attendee of the court's proceedings on Zoom who shared an image and filled the audio feed with loud noise.

Holmes said the disruptive image was "definitely sexual in nature."

The outburst prompted Justice Mark Hornblower to remind those in attendance, both online and in person, of the need for decorum.

"This is a judicial proceeding," he said. "This is not a form of entertainment."

Leroux spoke to the court while carrying the ashes of her father, who died in July 2023.

She told the court the incident continues to instil fear and anxiety in her, to the point where she has needed hospitalization and medication. She said she has been diagnosed with depression, stress ulcers, and suicide ideation. She said her family life — including her two young children and her marriage partner — has suffered.

"I will need lifelong therapy due to what happened here," Leroux said. "For the rest of my life, I will feel fear of Bubba Pollock contacting my family."

"This offence has changed the trajectory of my life and my children's lives."

Pollock sat without expression throughout Leroux's statement and did not meet her gaze.

The courtroom's public gallery was filled to capacity for the proceedings. Pollock attended with more than a dozen supporters, who later attempted to block media from taking images of Pollock outside the courthouse.

Leroux also had several supporters, most wearing and carrying items expressing 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy.

Speaking to media on the courthouse steps, Leroux expressed skepticism that Pollock is truly remorseful.

"I think he only feels bad because he got caught... I don't think it's a genuine apology. I think it's just a facade."

She described Pollock as a "malicious person that does stuff like this. Twenty years down the road, I'm afraid he'll still hold on to it and search (my family) out."

Pollock's sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 4 in Windsor.