James Sears

James Nicholas Sears (born Dimitrious Sarafopoulos;[1] September 14, 1963)[2][3] is a Canadian perennial candidate, convicted felon, and former physician and pickup artist. He was the editor of an antisemitic tabloid promoting his own New Constitution Party. The newspaper, titled Your Ward News, was barred from distribution by Canada Post in 2016, and Sears was convicted of willful promotion of hate in 2019. On the day of the ruling, Twitter suspended his account @dimitrithelover. On August 22, 2019 he was sentenced to imprisonment for one year.[4] On August 27, 2019, Sears was released on bail pending the hearing of his appeal.[5]

James Sears
Born
Dimitrious Sarafopoulos

(1963-09-14) September 14, 1963
NationalityCanadian
Other names"Dimitri the Lover"
Occupationphysician (license revoked)
Criminal statusConvicted January 24, 2019, sentenced August 22, 2019. Released on bail pending appeal
Conviction(s)2 counts of willful promotion of hate
Criminal penalty1 year's imprisonment (6 months each count, served consecutively)

Medical and military background

Sears was trained as a physician and described himself as a retired Canadian Armed Forces Medical Officer (Captain).[1][6] In the 1980s while a medical student with the Canadian Armed Forces, Sears was noted for erratic behaviour, and graduated in 1988, despite "documented reservations". During his subsequent internship, he was judged "immature" and entered psychotherapy in 1990. Following complaints from female patients, Sears' medical licence was revoked by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 1992 after Sears pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault.[3]

Sears started the Second Opinion Medical-Legal Consultants Group in 1994, offering "medical investigative services" such as medical background checks for the prospective employees of its clients and research for parties to medical malpractice suits. In 2001, it was reported in the Toronto Star that they had been hired by Canadian Tire and the Toronto Transit Commission.[7]

Mortgage broker

He has also been involved with the mortgage brokerage industry with Trillium Mortgages and then Expert Mortgage Company. His application for a mortgage broker's licence was denied by the regulatory body, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario; however, he has continued to work for Expert Mortgage Company as a "full-time in-house marketing guru", describing himself as "Ontario's #1 Trainer of Sales Consultants, with Specialization in Mortgage & Real Estate Agents".[7]

Pickup artist

Sears was also known for his activities as a pickup artist using the pseudonym "Dimitri the Lover" selling courses that claimed to train men in how to seduce women.[7]

Politics

In the 2014 Toronto civic election, Sears was a city council candidate in Ward 32 and received 797 votes (roughly 3% of the vote).[8][9] His campaign included a website with an interactive animation that asked users to choose one of three playable characters, Rob Ford, Vladimir Putin or Adolf Hitler to "spank" the bare bottom of a cartoon caricature of city councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, Sears's rival in the election.[10]

He ran in the 2015 federal election as an independent candidate (no party affiliation) and placed fifth out of seven candidates, getting 254 votes (less than 0.5% of the vote).[11]

Sears was a candidate for the Canadians' Choice Party in the 2018 provincial election running against Attorney General Yasir Naqvi in Ottawa Centre. He placed last out of eight candidates with 92 votes.[12]

In 2018 he registered as a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in that year's election.[13] He finished with 680 votes, less than 1% of the total vote.[14]

Your Ward News

Sears is editor-in-chief of Your Ward News, a quarterly newspaper which promotes the New Constitution Party, an unregistered neo-Nazi political party led by Sears.[1][15] The newspaper used to be printed and distributed as a flyer in the east Toronto neighbourhood of The Beaches. The vanity publication, which claimed to have a circulation of 50,000, was criticized for using antisemitic caricatures and language, described by former Canadian Jewish Congress Chief Executive Officer Bernie Farber as "classic anti-Semitic tropes" and "a clear attempt at a hateful representation of Jews".[15] On June 6, 2016, the Government of Canada ordered Canada Post to cease delivery of the paper.[16]

The newspaper continued to be distributed using private delivery services, and was investigated for hate crime.[17] On June 21, 2017, Sears and publisher Leroy St. Germaine were charged under the Criminal Code with uttering threats against Warren and Lisa Kinsella in an article by Sears in which he wrote that his supporters may decide to "bludgeon the Kinsellas to death."[18][19]

In November 2017, Sears and St. Germaine were each charged with two counts of willful promotion of hatred under the Criminal Code.[20] They were accused of promoting hatred against women and Jews.[21] Both were found guilty on January 24, 2019.[22] The Crown asked that Sears be given a one-year jail sentence and an additional three years' probation during which Sears would be prohibited from publishing any material.[23] On August 22, 2019, Sears was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, consisting of six months for each charge, served consecutively, the maximum sentence available.[4][23][24] He is currently out on bail, pending appeal.[5] On August 29, 2019, St. Germaine was sentenced to one year of house arrest.[5]

Electoral record
2014 Toronto election, Ward 32[25]
Candidate Votes %
Mary-Margaret McMahon15,76260.92
Sandra Bussin4,55217.59
Brian Graff1,9227.43
James Sears7973.08
Eric de Boer6772.62
Carmel Suttor4641.79
Alan Burke4041.56
Maria Garcia4021.55
Michael Connor3341.29
Sean Dawson2410.93
Bruce Baker2130.82
Jim Brookman1070.41
Total25,875100%
2015 Canadian federal election: Beaches—East York
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalNathaniel Erskine-Smith27,45849.45+18.69$104,089.50
New DemocraticMatthew Kellway17,11330.82-10.82$129,211.99
ConservativeBill Burrows9,12416.43-6.31$35,453.04
GreenRandall Sach1,4332.58-2.02$3,691.94
IndependentJames Sears2540.46–$35,400.00
Marxist–LeninistRoger Carter1050.19-0.08–
IndependentPeter Surjanac430.08–$449.62
Total valid votes/Expense limit 55,530100.00 $208,561.84
Total rejected ballots 2160.39–
Turnout 55,74673.18–
Eligible voters 76,173
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +14.76
Source: Elections Canada[26][27]
2018 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticJoel Harden29,67546.08+25.69
LiberalYasir Naqvi21,11132.78-18.89
Progressive ConservativeColleen McCleery10,32716.03-2.08
GreenCherie Wong2,2663.52-4.22
None of the AboveMarc Adornato4370.68
LibertarianBruce A. Faulkner3850.60-0.96
CommunistStuart Ryan1100.17-0.35
Canadians' ChoiceJames Sears920.14
Total valid votes 64,403100.0  
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +22.29
Source: Elections Ontario[28]

Sources
  1. "Message From NCP Leader, Dr. James Sears". New Constitution Party of Canada. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  2. https://twitter.com/dimitrithelover
  3. "Disgraced doctor is T.O.'s seduction guru". Toronto Sun. December 30, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2015. By 1986, Sears was in the Canadian Armed Forces and while still a third-year medical student was evaluated by a military psychiatrist who suggested there was "something seriously wrong" with Sears.
  4. "Your Ward News editor James Sears sentenced to one year in jail for promoting hate - The Globe and Mail". www.theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved Sep 27, 2020.
  5. "Your Ward News publisher sentenced to 12-month house arrest".
  6. Quoted in The College of Surgeons and Physicians of Ontario vs. Dr. James Sears, December 1, 1992 - "'If Captain Sears returns to medical practice, he should be supervised carefully.'" (1990)
  7. "Did the Controversial Editor of Your Ward News Send Homophobic Hate Mail to Councillor Wong-Tam?". 2017-04-19.
  8. "2014 Municipal Election Results - Councillor Poll by Poll" (PDF). 31 October 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  9. "'Dimitri the Lover' back making headlines". Toronto Sun. March 25, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  10. "Toronto city council candidate James Sears promotes online 'spanking' game against female rival". canada.com. Postmedia News. June 30, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  11. "Federal Election 2015: Beaches-East York riding results - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  12. https://www.elections.on.ca/content/ngw/en/election-results/ottawa-centre.html
  13. Sears, James. "Editor's message Your Ward News (Winter 2018)".
  14. Watkiss, Uli (October 25, 2018). "2018 Clerks Official Declaration of Results" (PDF). toronto.ca. p. 1.
  15. "Beach residents decry 'offensive' newsletter". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  16. Shane, Emmett (June 6, 2016). "Canada Post ordered to stop delivering controversial Your Ward News". CBC News. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  17. Pelley, Lauren (January 30, 2017). "Toronto police investigating controversial Your Ward News publication". CBC News. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  18. "Editor, publisher of neo-Nazi tabloid charged with uttering threats". CityNews. June 21, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  19. Loriggio, Paola (June 21, 2017). "Criminal charges laid against publisher of controversial newspaper Your Ward News". CTV News. Canadian Press. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  20. "Court Ruling - Sears and St. Germaine". Scribd. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  21. Cameron, Peter (November 16, 2017). "2 men behind controversial Toronto publication face hate-related charges". CTV News. Canadian Press. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  22. Perkel, Colin (January 24, 2019). "Your Ward News duo found guilty of peddling hate against women and Jews". CBC News. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  23. Perkel, Colin (April 26, 2019). "Editor found guilty of peddling hate says Your Ward News gave 'angry men' a voice". National Post. Canadian Press. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  24. Perkel, Colin (May 30, 2019). "James Sears fires lawyer; sentencing for Your Ward News delayed". 680 News. Canadian Press. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  25. "Toronto Election 2014 Poll By Poll Results: Councillor" (PDF). Toronto City Clerk's Office. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  26. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Beaches—East York, 30 September 2015
  27. Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits
  28. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 6. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
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