Barrie, Ont. man summoned to contempt hearing for vulgar outburst directed at judge

A Barrie man was ordered to appear in person for a contempt of court hearing Wednesday for repeated courtroom outbursts and vulgar language directed toward a female judge.

Warning: This article contains language that may upset some readers.

A Barrie man was ordered to appear in person for a contempt of court hearing Wednesday for repeated courtroom outbursts and vulgar language directed toward a female judge.

Dylan Zona entered the Barrie courthouse with his mother by his side to address his behaviour during a prior virtual court appearance in which he told the judge to shut her "wh--e mouth."

Justice Cecilia Applegate began the hearing by providing Zona with a copy of the transcript from the court proceedings conducted over Zoom two weeks ago.

Zona, who confirmed he has not hired a lawyer, was assisted during the hearing by experienced duty counsel Jeannie Mills, who said Zona was prepared to acknowledge the disrespect and disruption he showed the court constituted contempt of court and was aware of the penalties available to the judge.

The Crown called Zona's comments repulsive and asked him to be jailed for his disrespectful conduct and disrupting the trial scheduling court proceedings.

Zona then read a statement to the court, offering an apology for his behaviour on the Zoom call. "I will not stand here and make a bunch of excuses for my outbursts and foul language. I understand that it was inappropriate."