Former John Howard Society manager accused of demanding sex act for clean urine test
CBC
A former manager at a high-profile prisoners' advocacy organization is accused of threatening to fail a man's urine test if he didn't provide him with sexual gratification.
According to court documents, Rod Harris, formerly the second in command at the provincial chapter of the John Howard Society, has been charged with one count of extortion while working at a halfway house in St. John's.
The alleged victim is currently an inmate at Her Majesty's Penitentiary, and can't be identified due to a publication ban.
Harris was the John Howard Society's director of programs and operations at the time.
John Howard Society executive director Cindy Murphy refused an interview request. In an emailed statement, she confirmed Harris left the organization in the summer of 2021.
"While we cannot comment on the details, we can say that any breach of the JHS policies or code of conduct by any person is taken very seriously," she wrote.
"We became aware of such a breach and acted upon it immediately."
The John Howard Society is "committed to ensuring the privacy and well being of all of our clients," Murphy continued. "That is our utmost priority."
Murphy would not comment further on the breach, or answer questions sent by text and email about the validity of any other urine tests conducted by Harris.
Harris's lawyer, Jon Noonan, declined to comment, but said in an emailed statement that "Mr. Harris looks forward to having a full opportunity to respond to the allegations through a fair trial process in which he is presumed innocent."
Harris was listed as an instructor of criminology with Academy Canada after his departure, and currently works as a mortgage agent.
Harris is scheduled to appear in provincial court May 31. He has not yet entered a plea on the extortion charge.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.
Registered nurses rallied in St. John's Wednesday as part of a week-long convention, again calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to create permanent solutions to staff shortages and workplace violence.