Man is Sentenced to Jail for Posting Hospital Selfie With Dying Stranger

A man takes a selfie in a hospital room. He smiles in the foreground, while a person rests in a hospital bed in the background, covered with a colorful quilt. Medical equipment surrounds the bed.

A man has been sentenced to jail for taking a hospital selfie with a dying stranger in hospital.

On Friday, Bubba Pollock from Ontario, Canada was sentenced to 60 days in prison and a 12-month ban from social media for criminal harassment for taking the selfie.

The charges originate from a photograph taken by 35-year-old Pollock last year.

In June 2023, anti-drag queen activist Pollock clashed on social media with Britt Leroux who is a Pride supporter and 2SLGBTQ+ activist, according to a report by CBC News.

In the days prior to the hospital selfie, Pollock and Leroux had several heated exchanges online over local Pride events in Ontario.

Then on June 14, 2023, 35-year-old Pollock travelled to Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Campus in Ontario.

In the hospital, he dropped off flowers and took a selfie of himself smiling in a palliative care room with a dying stranger.

The dying stranger in the selfie was Leroux’s elderly and cancer-stricken father.

Pollock then reportedly tried to intimidate Leroux by posting the selfie with her unconscious father on social media.

Pollock shared the selfie in a Facebook comment thread visible to a shocked and devastated Leroux.

‘A Message of Intimidation’

Last week, Ontario Justice Mark Hornblower sentenced Pollock to two months of jail time for the selfie.

He described Pollock’s behavior as “an exercise of power over someone else, intended to send a message of intimidation.”

Hornblower says that the incident left Leroux with a “life-altering” sense of fear, not only for herself but also for her father and family.

Pollock was also handed three years of probation, which includes a 12-month ban from social media use for the act.

According to CBC News, part of his probation order is that he must avoid all contact with Leroux and her family, and keep at least 328 feet (100 meters) distance from her at all times.

Pollock must also pay almost $1,900 in restitution to Leroux. This includes $1,300 to reimburse her for the security system she installed at her residence due to the incident, and around $600 for the new cellphone she obtained under the advice of police.

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