Sara Ballingall

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Sara Ballingall
Born1972 (age 48–49)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Known forPlaying Melanie Brodie in the Degrassi franchise
TelevisionDegrassi Junior High, Degrassi High

Sara Ballingall (born c. 1972-1973) is a Canadian former actress. She is best known for playing Melanie Brodie in the teen drama television series Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. Following Degrassi, Ballingall became a target of an international stalker in Melbourne for six years. The case became the first international stalking case of its kind in Australia.

Acting career[]

On Degrassi, Ballingall played the role of Melanie Brodie, a "skinny schoolgirl with crooked teeth"[1] who had romantic feelings towards Archie "Snake" Simpson, played by Stefan Brogren.[2] She was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador along with her co-stars in April 1989.[3][4] Ballingall left the series in 1990.[1]

Stalking case[]

After a joint Canadian-Australian police investigation in 1999, the Melbourne home of Australian accountant Brian Andrew Sutcliffe was raided by Victoria Police after Ballingall alleged that Sutcliffe had been sending her threatening letters and other suspicious objects, as well as phone calls, mail and emails since 1993.[1][5] Sutcliffe had regularly participated in online discussions about the series, until he was removed for his increasingly offensive messages.[6] Various unregistered firearms and explosives were seized in the raid,[7] and Sutcliffe was later charged with stalking and various firearm offences.[6][1] An interim intervention order was brought against Sutcliffe on August 26, 1999.[8] The case was initially rejected by Melbourne magistrate Sue Wakeling, claiming a lack of jurisdiction; the case was appealed months later on point of law. The case marked the first time a person was charged with international stalking in Australia. [1] In March 2003 the Full Victorian Supreme Court found defects in the 2001 Judge's appeal ruling and original proceedings and remitted the case to be re-heard on proper evidence as opposed to a summary of the police case [9] (the Court found in effect the Judge could not make ruling on a fragmented proceeding where no evidence was admitted). The alleged stalking case was dismissed in June 2004 by a Magistrate when Ballingall refused to give evidence, and most of the other charges were also found unproven. The police officer who laid the charges left the police force in 2007 after complaints by Sutcliffe for failing to verify evidence before laying charges and fabricating evidence in the case.

Details: - Ballingall made a series of false allegations about Sutcliffe in 1999 caused by other persons most of whom were connected with a Degrassi High Internet blog group (operated by Mark Polger in Montreal Canada), giving her wrong information. Both Toronto Metro Police and Victoria Police Constable Pena failed to verify the correctness of these allegations before acting. As a result the case was struck out in 2004. At the time the police attempt to apply the stalking offence's operation outside Victoria contravened Section 48 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 [10] , as was applied in a 1955 High Court decision to a similar NSW enactment in the 1950s [11] because the offence required a result inside Victorian (State) territorial boundaries. This is in line with the UK Privy Council's longstanding ruling in MacLeod v. Attorney General of NSW [1891] AC 455 that 'all offences are territorial', unless clearly expressed or implied otherwise by statute [12]. Following the Full Court's ruling the stalking offence was amended in 2003 by State Parliament (amendments shown) [13]. Sutcliffe has never been given any apology over the case.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "In your footsteps". The Age. April 24, 2003. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021. line feed character in |access-date= at position 4 (help); line feed character in |archive-date= at position 2 (help); Check date values in: |access-date= and |archive-date= (help)
  2. ^ Atherton, Tony (1988-02-16). "Canadian rule draws little animation". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 31. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  3. ^ "All in a good cause". Classmates Newsletter. June 1, 1989. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  4. ^ Ellis 2005, pp. 140
  5. ^ "Charges dropped against Australian accused of stalking Degrassi star". The Ottawa Citizen. The Canadian Press. 2000-07-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-06-07. line feed character in |title= at position 17 (help); line feed character in |work= at position 5 (help)
  6. ^ a b Honey, Kim (April 7, 2001). "My day with the Degrassi cult". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Sea to Sea: Ontario". The Ottawa Citizen. 1999-09-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-06-07. line feed character in |title= at position 8 (help)
  8. ^ "E-mailer 'stalked soap star'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1999-08-31. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  9. ^ url=https://jade.io/j/?a=outline&id=71124
  10. ^ http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/iola1984322/s48.html
  11. ^ url=https://staging.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgments/1955/001--GRANNALL_v._C._GEO._KELLAWAY_AND_SONS_PTY._LTD.--(1955)_93_CLR_36.html
  12. ^ url=http://www.uniset.ca/other/cs5/1981AC455.html
  13. ^ url=http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ca195882/s21a.html

Sources[]

  • Ellis, Kathryn (2005). The official 411 Degrassi generations. Fenn Pub. Co. ISBN 1-55168-278-8. OCLC 59136593.
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