An Abbotsford woman has been ordered to pay her neighbor $67,500 after claiming he was a pedophile on Facebook.
The incident stems back to 2011 when Douglas Pritchard approached his neighbor Katherine Van Nes and asked her to turn off her newly built backyard waterfall pond at night as the noise interrupted his wife’s sleep.
The sounds reportedly continued, and Pritchard ultimately made a noise complaint to the City of Abbotsford who advised him to document his family’s complaints through photos and/or video.
According to court documents, Pritchard installed “feng shui” mirrors and collected video evidence.
In addition to further conflicts, Van Nes took to Facebook to “vent”. On the social platform, she suggested that her neighbor is a pedophile who set up mirrors and videotaped her children.
“My neighbour has mirrors hanging outside his home…Doug also videotapes my kids in the backyard 24/7,” reads one of the many posts.
The posts quickly went viral and many began negatively labeling Pritchard. Van Es also commented on the posts and replied to the comments she received, which were deleted shortly after. Some pointed out that he was a high-school teacher, which led to parents of children at the school feeling uncomfortable.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that Van Nes’s viral posts were “completely false and unjustified” and have damaged Pritchard’s career.
“The seriousness of Ms. Van Nes’ defamatory Facebook post, her replies, and the comments of her “friends” cannot be overstated. An accusation of paedophilic behaviour must be the single most effective means of destroying a teacher’s reputation and career, not to mention the devastating effect on their life and individual dignity.”
“An accusation of pedophilic behaviour must be the single most effective means of destroying a teacher’s reputation and career, not to mention the devastating effect on their life and individual dignity. He now faces the challenge of repairing the damage Ms. Van Nes has caused, if that is even possible at this point.”
The judge has ordered Van Nes to pay $50,000 in general damages, $15,000 in punitive damages, and $2,500 for Nuisance. Van Es must also turn off the waterfall pond every night between 10:00 pm and 7:00am.
