Karla Homolka is a public figure, Quebec Press Council rules in dismissing complaint
Homolka, now 50 years old, was unconditionally released from prison in 2005.
Presse Canadienne
Jean-Philippe Denoncourt
Dec 16, 2020 • Last Updated 4 hours ago • 2 minute read
Convicted murderer Karla Homolka attempting to hide her face from a photographer in 2017. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette
The Quebec Press Council has dismissed a complaint filed 16 months ago against a journalist working for a weekly newspaper serving Beauharnois-Salaberry who reported that convicted murderer Karla Homolka was living in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
The plaintiff, Florent Gauthier-Blais, had argued that the report, published Sept. 5, 2019, constituted a violation of Homolka’s right to privacy.
After a controversial plea deal, Homolka served 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in connection with the killings of two teenage girls. She is the ex-wife of serial killer Paul Bernardo, who remains in prison for the slayings in the 1990s of three teenage girls in Ontario. Many Canadians were revolted and shocked by the details of the killings as well as by those of Homolka’s plea deal.
Homolka, now 50 years old, was unconditionally released from prison in 2005.
The article, written by Mélanie Calvé for the weekly newspaper La voix régionale Beauharnois-Salaberry Haut-Saint-Laurent, reported that Homolka was living in the La Baie sector of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and that she was using the name Leanne Teale while living with the owner of the building she inhabited.
In the complaint to the press council, Gauthier-Blais questioned why the journalist mentioned the location of Homolka’s home as well as her assumed name. He also questioned the content of the article, saying it would be detrimental to Homolka.
The press council noted that Calvé had not reported Homolka’s precise address, adding that the report was not the first of its kind to reveal her whereabouts or details of her new life.
The council also ruled that the name Leanne Teale had already been made public in 1999 when Homolka used it in a lawsuit against the federal government. The name has appeared in other judgments made in 2005.
In its ruling, the council described Homolka as a public figure and that her identity, be it through her birth name or the assumed name, had not been hidden from the public.
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Homolka, now 50 years old, was unconditionally released from prison in 2005.
Presse Canadienne
Jean-Philippe Denoncourt
Dec 16, 2020 • Last Updated 4 hours ago • 2 minute read
Convicted murderer Karla Homolka attempting to hide her face from a photographer in 2017. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette
The Quebec Press Council has dismissed a complaint filed 16 months ago against a journalist working for a weekly newspaper serving Beauharnois-Salaberry who reported that convicted murderer Karla Homolka was living in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
The plaintiff, Florent Gauthier-Blais, had argued that the report, published Sept. 5, 2019, constituted a violation of Homolka’s right to privacy.
After a controversial plea deal, Homolka served 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in connection with the killings of two teenage girls. She is the ex-wife of serial killer Paul Bernardo, who remains in prison for the slayings in the 1990s of three teenage girls in Ontario. Many Canadians were revolted and shocked by the details of the killings as well as by those of Homolka’s plea deal.
Homolka, now 50 years old, was unconditionally released from prison in 2005.
The article, written by Mélanie Calvé for the weekly newspaper La voix régionale Beauharnois-Salaberry Haut-Saint-Laurent, reported that Homolka was living in the La Baie sector of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and that she was using the name Leanne Teale while living with the owner of the building she inhabited.
In the complaint to the press council, Gauthier-Blais questioned why the journalist mentioned the location of Homolka’s home as well as her assumed name. He also questioned the content of the article, saying it would be detrimental to Homolka.
The press council noted that Calvé had not reported Homolka’s precise address, adding that the report was not the first of its kind to reveal her whereabouts or details of her new life.
The council also ruled that the name Leanne Teale had already been made public in 1999 when Homolka used it in a lawsuit against the federal government. The name has appeared in other judgments made in 2005.
In its ruling, the council described Homolka as a public figure and that her identity, be it through her birth name or the assumed name, had not been hidden from the public.
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Karla Homolka is a public figure, Quebec Press Council rules in dismissing complaint
Homolka, now 50 years old, was unconditionally released from prison in 2005.
