GORE BAY – A former Gore Bay resident entered into a Section 810 peace bond for 12 months at a hearing on May 14. Criminal charges against Tracie Thomas of Niagara Falls were withdrawn in the resolution. Ms. Thomas was originally charged with 20 counts of mailing obscene matter and 20 counts of criminal harassment, threatening conduct.
In December 2019, hateful Christmas cards were mailed out to a substantial number of Gore Bay community members. On December 19, 2019, OPP responded to numerous complaints from residents of Gore Bay who received Christmas cards in the mail from unknown parties. Approximately 70 community members received cards that contained offensive messages.
In her submission, Assistant Crown Attorney Julie Lefebvre stated that Ms. Thomas admitted to writing the letters and had done a lot of work in the past year, including sending letters of apology to every person who had received the letters and making a $500 donation.
Justice Klein noted that Ms. Thomas had appeared remorseful throughout an earlier pre-trial. He had suggested certain actions and was pleased she had completed the upfront work with the apologies. No one who received an apology responded, Ms. Thomas said.
Justice Klein agreed the resolution of a Section 810 peace bond was reasonable under the circumstances. Ms. Thomas is to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months. She is prohibited from attending the Town of Gore Bay and is to have no communication of any kind with any Gore Bay community member.
