Police investigate possible publication ban breach
Posted Nov 25, 2014 11:04:15 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – Police are investigating several complaints after a major news outlet in Halifax published the name of a teenage girl victimized in a prominent child pornography case.
Halifax police Const. Pierre Bourdages says the Integrated General Investigation section is looking into a possible breach of a court-ordered publication ban on the girl’s name.
He says all of the complaints came from citizens and were linked to the outlet’s use of her name, but he didn’t how many were filed.
The news outlet says it decided to name her because it believes doing so is in the public interest given the widespread recognition of her name and the good that can come from free public debate over sexual consent and other elements of her story.
This comes after a second young man in the case pleaded guilty in youth court Monday to distributing a sexually graphic image of the 15-year-old girl, who died last year following a suicide attempt.
Others have published her name on social media sites, but police said on Nov. 14 that no charges would be laid in seven instances.
