Windsor woman waits for man who took hospital selfie with terminally ill dad to be sentenced

It's been almost a year since the crime occurred, but Britt Leroux of Windsor says she's still haunted by the selfie photo that Bubba Pollock took and posted while in the hospital room of her terminally ill father.

"My heart sank (when I saw it)," Leroux told CBC Windsor on Wednesday, just after leaving yet another court date on the case.

"It was the scariest moment of my entire life... That he's going to take the time to research who I am, drive to a city, and use my dying father to intimidate me."

Pollock, a London resident, pleaded guilty in January to a charge of harassment. A date for his sentencing is still in the process of being set. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 29.

The selfie image that Bubba Pollock of London took and posted in the hospital room of Andre Leroux, father of Britt Leroux, at the Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare campus on June 14, 2023. (Britt Leroux)

The charge stems from actions taken by Pollock on June 14, 2023.

Pollock had clashed with Leroux — a Pride activist — on Facebook over a drag event and 2SLGBTQ+ issues.

In a comment thread visible to Leroux, Pollock posted the photo of himself smiling in a hospital room, without any explanation.

It was the hospital room of Leroux's elderly, cancer-stricken father, Andre, who was receiving palliative care at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.

Andre could be seen in the background of Pollock's photo, lying unconscious in his hospital bed.

"I thought it was a Photoshopped picture, at first," Leroux told CBC Windsor on Wednesday. "I was like, there's no way this is real. And then I called the hospital and they said, yeah — There's flowers in his room."

Leroux said Pollock must have scoured her social media to find out that her father was at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. But she still has unanswered questions about how Pollock was so easily able to locate and gain access to her father's room on the medical campus.

And she still finds it disturbing that Pollock drove for hours and applied such effort, apparently just to troll her.

"Just to scare me," she said. "I've never even been face to face with him. I've never been in the same room as him. I've never shared the same oxygen as him."

Britt Leroux (right) with her father, Andre Leroux (left) at Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare during Britt's wedding in May 2023. (Kayti Mokrzycki)

Leroux said her father was unaware of Pollock's presence, due to his condition. Andre Leroux died some weeks later, in July 2023. His remains have been cremated, but Leroux still hasn't posted an obituary.

"I'm absolutely worried (about future harassment)," she said. "I haven't really been able to grieve Dad."

Britt Leroux (left) and her husband John Reh (right) carry a rainbow flag during a Halloween event in October 2023. (Britt Leroux)

Leroux said her own activism continues. She's now a board member with the Windsor-Essex Pride Fest, and she continues to be vocal in her defence of drag performers.

But she said last summer's experience has changed her, and her family. "I talk about the psychological impact that this has had on me. I've become a broken person. I'm not the same. It did something to me."

Asked if she now regrets her Facebook conflict with Pollock, Leroux said it's a difficult question for her to answer.

"How it has affected people that love and care about me — If I could go back, I wouldn't do it for that (reason)," Leroux said. "But I can look at it as, I was doing something right for the community."

Britt Leroux and her husband John Reh (centre) pose with drag performers during a Windsor-Essex Pride Fest event. (Britt Leroux)

Pollock did not appear in court on Wednesday. He was represented by a legal agent via video link. It's likely Pollock will also be represented by a legal agent at his May 29 court date.

But Leroux said she'll continue to show up in the court audience, in person. She's been preparing her victim impact statement.

"I want to make sure that the people we love and care about the most are safe," Leroux said. "That's my biggest concern."