Cyber stalker's victims troubled by renewed interest

A North Vancouver man who cyber-stalked several young women he had previously stalked when they were teenagers will spend five more months in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal harassment.

Judge Joanne Challenger handed the sentence to Stephen Christopher Hoy, 54, in North Vancouver provincial court Dec. 4. The five-month sentence is on top of nine months Hoy has already spent in jail.

Crown counsel Jason Krupa described how Hoy began sending "bizarre and disturbing messages" to several young women over Facebook between July 28 and Dec. 13, 2013.

In one message, Hoy told one of the women he was going to show up "as a man that knocks on your front doorstep and bites your bottom lip off before you can say a word."

Hoy told another girl in a message he wanted to "lift you around to see how heavy you are" and "go for a drive ... with the windows rolled down." He told another "I seriously hate you."

He also sent one of the women a message directing her to his Facebook page where he had posted a collage of recent photos of her and her friends.

Krupa said the messages were all sent to young women in their early 20s who Hoy had previously stalked five years ago in North Vancouver when they were teenaged girls.

At that time, starting in 2007, Hoy had followed the teens' activities on Facebook, sent them disturbing emails and knocked on the door of one girl when she was home alone. Hoy's victims also reported other strange interactions.

Hoy was eventually convicted of criminal harassment in that case and sentenced to five months in jail.

Krupa said none of the young women had heard from Hoy in years until the strange behaviour started up again last year. He said all of the women who received Hoy's recent messages were afraid and "deeply disturbed" to be contacted by him. "It's happened before and it's happened again," one of them wrote in a victim impact statement. Other victims said they were afraid to be on public transit, feared opening their email and had turned down night shifts at work, said Krupa.

He noted Hoy has a history of mental health problems including paranoia but has not been diagnosed as delusional and is not taking medication.

Hoy's lawyer Michael Smith said his client acknowledges his behaviour was inappropriate.

In handing down her sentence, Challenger said she was not surprised Hoy's victims were fearful. When offenders act in "bizarre and inexplicable ways" it often causes greater fear than when they act in "ways that can be understood," she said.

In addition to the jail term, Hoy must serve three years probation. During that time he must not contact any of his victims and must not be alone with anyone under 18, except for his own daughter. He was also ordered to stay away from public parks, pools and rec centres where children under 18 are likely to be present, attend the forensic psychiatric outpatient clinic and take reasonable steps to ensure his mental health doesn't pose a danger to himself or others.