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Mike Sudoma \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
Winnipeg firefighter Christopher Goethals, 59, was arrested for breaching a protection order, which he did while in full uniform and driving a WFPS fleet vehicle, say police<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
At the time of his arrest, Goethals was still serving a one-year conditional sentence imposed last January after he pleaded guilty to two counts of disobeying court orders. That sentence was in addition to just over 12 months he had finished serving for criminal harassment.<\/p>\n
In a media release issued Wednesday, Goethals\u2019 union said his alleged actions do \u201cnot reflect the character or commitment\u201d of the city\u2019s 1,500 firefighters and firefighter paramedics.<\/p>\n
When asked Thursday if the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg supported Goethals\u2019 return to work following his criminal convictions, union president Nick Kasper declined to provide an explicit answer and deferred comment to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur role as the certified bargaining agent is to represent employees in matters arising from the employment relationship in accordance with the collective agreement and applicable labour legislation,\u201d Kasper said. \u201cThe UFFW does not comment publicly on matters involving the representation of individual members.\u201d<\/p>\n
A city spokesman refused to answer any questions about Goethals\u2019 case, including whether convictions for criminal harassment are a barrier to employment, what Goethals\u2019 job duties were when he returned to work, or why he was allowed access to a fleet vehicle when he was bound by a conditional sentence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a woman tells you to stop contacting her and you continue to contact her \u2013 it\u2019s a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Court heard at his January sentencing that Goethals had been in a four-year on-again, off-again relationship with the victim before she ended it in November 2023. Goethals continued to call and message the woman multiple times a week, professing his love, to no response, and on Christmas Day left a diamond ring in her mailbox.<\/p>\n
Later, Goethals visited the woman\u2019s son\u2019s school and delivered flowers to the woman\u2019s workplace, prompting her to send him a text telling him to leave them alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Goethals responded that she \u2018was rude,\u2019\u201d Crown attorney Amanda Heslop told court.<\/p>\n
Over the next several months, Goethals continued to message the woman and follow her.<\/p>\n
The woman called police July 25, 2024, after she saw Goethals parked outside a home where she had been visiting a friend. The woman applied for and was granted a protection order the following day prohibiting Goethals from coming within 200 metres of her, her home or workplace. Goethals went on to repeatedly breach the condition, including once when he hid behind a hedge as she got into her car at The Forks.<\/p>\n
Goethals was arrested after that incident and released. He was rearrested six weeks later after he was caught on security camera peering into the woman\u2019s backyard.<\/p>\n
Goethals remained in custody until his January sentencing.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIn case this hasn\u2019t sunk in yet, I\u2019m going to explain this to him as simply as possible,\u201d the woman wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a woman tells you to stop contacting her and you continue to contact her \u2014 it\u2019s a crime,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen a woman tells you to leave her alone and you continue to invade her life \u2014 it\u2019s a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defence lawyer Tony Kavanagh told court Goethals had received the message \u201cloud and clear\u201d and had no intention of doing anything that would put him back in jail.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is anxious to get back to work,\u201d Kavanagh said. \u201cHe\u2019s 59. He doesn\u2019t want to see the inside of a jail cell again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refused to take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2017, Goethals pleaded guilty to criminally harassing his longtime partner and breaking into her new home shortly after she left him. Goethals was credited 16 months for time served and sentenced to an additional six months custody and three years supervised probation.<\/p>\n
Goethals\u2019 ex-partner \u201crefused all requests for reconciliation and he refused to take no for an answer,\u201d Crown attorney Shannon Benevides told court. \u201cHe felt entitled to continue to make efforts to keep her in the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the woman told Goethals she was going to seek a protection order, he told her \u201ca piece of paper won\u2019t keep you safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
In July 2016, Goethals was convicted of breaching a protection order, sentenced to five months jail and two years supervised probation, during which time he was to wear an electronic ankle bracelet.<\/p>\n
According to a pre-sentence report provided to court, Goethals told a probation officer he planned to \u201cmake her life miserable\u201d when he was released from jail.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fear for my life when he is released,\u201d the woman wrote in a victim impact statement. \u201cHe blames me for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goethals remains in custody. His next court date is July 31.<\/p>\n
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Dean Pritchard Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Courts reporter
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