Windsor woman feeling uneasy after London man's harassment sentencing pushed to September

Bubba Pollock leaving the Windsor courthouse in July 25, 2024. (Source: Rob Hindi/AM800)

Bubba Pollock left the courthouse surrounded by an entourage trying to block him from cameras. The London, Ont. man had pleaded guilty to harassment back in January and was in court Thursday for sentencing.

“It was terrifying being in the same room as him. I've never been near him before,” said Britt Leroux, who had previously had an online confrontation with Pollock in relation to some of his previous anti-LGBTQ2S+ messaging.

In 2023, Leroux was publicly was married at the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor so her father could be a part of the celebration.

The court heard that in June of 2023, Pollock drove two hours from London to Windsor and entered her dying father's palliative care room and snapped a selfie from his bedside.

There were two disruptions in the courtroom Thursday — the first prompted a warning from the judge after someone posted a sexual image in the online gallery during Leroux's impact statement.

The second, heckling from the gallery, was immediately stopped by Windsor police. There was also a stare down in a courtroom packed with supporters from both sides.

“He said the f-word to us,” Leroux claimed. “Under his breath he said ‘f-u.’ That's when I turned around and I was just staring.”

Leroux pleaded with the court to have Pollock banned from having any contact with her or her family. As the crown recounted Pollock's journey to Windsor, Leroux broke down.

“He (Leroux’s father) was laying there and then I pictured that man (Pollock) looking down on him and putting flowers next to him,” Leroux explained while shaking her head in sadness.

A letter of reflection, read by Pollock's lawyer to the court, said his client travelled to Windsor on an impulse to win an argument.

“It doesn't look like he won the argument,” Leroux noted.

The court heard Pollock has a solid history of charity in the London area and has a support group in place to connect with when he has an extreme impulse.

“I think it's a way of manipulating the courts into thinking he's going to be okay, but it's just to get this to go away and I have a feeling once it's done he will come back with a vengeance,” Leroux said.

With no case in point or precedent set, the Crown is looking for a six-month sentence plus three years of probation and a DNA sample. The defence is asking for a suspended sentence with probation or conditional sentence with community service.

Pollock was offered a chance to speak to the court and to Leroux but he declined.

Sentencing is now set for Sept. 4 at 9:30 a.m. at Ontario Provincial Court in downtown Windsor.