Your Ward News publisher sentenced to 12-month house arrest
Posted August 29, 2019 7:41 am.
Last Updated August 29, 2019 11:46 am.
The Toronto man who published Your Ward News, a free newspaper that spewed hatred against women and Jews, has been sentenced to 12 months of house arrest.
The prosecution had called for six months behind bars for 77-year-old LeRoy St. Germaine, who was found guilty in January of two hate counts.
The judge says LeRoy St. Germaine poses no danger to the community. He will serve two six-month sentences consecutively.
Germaine is only allowed to leave his home four hours a week for grocery shopping. All other requests to leave his residence must be approved in writing.
The Crown said she believes the conditions are “very restrictive.”
Leroy St. Germaine has just walked out of the College Park Courthouse. Germaine tells @CityNews he doesn’t believe any of the articles posted on Your Ward News included hate speech. He also plans to appeal his conviction. pic.twitter.com/oFnw9IS9Ft
— Adrian Ghobrial (@AdrianGhobrial) August 29, 2019
Just a week ago, James Sears — the editor of the newspaper — was given a one-year term. The judge said he would have given Sears a stiffer penalty if the law allowed it.
However, CityNews has learned that the 55-year-old has since been granted bail. A police source told CityNews that Sears submitted an appeal application and had his bail hearing on Tuesday.
The free publication was distributed over three years to more than 300,000 homes and businesses in the Toronto area as well as online.
It consistently portrayed women as inferior and as inviting rape. It also promoted tropes of Jews drinking the blood of Christian children and denied the Holocaust occurred.
