'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Brent Marsch, 38, said he met Jennifer Plantz, 34, on the dating app Tinder in 2016 but when he went to meet her at Polo Park mall, he realized something wasn’t right.
“My stomach dropped,” he said in an exclusive interview with CTV News. He said she gave him the same profile name but her online photo did not match her appearance in person.
He said he quickly ended the date but she sent online messages two years later and in 2019, Plantz showed up at his apartment.
“She was standing there, in a trench coat, huffing aerosol, and I was immediately like ‘Oh, it’s you,’” he said, adding the incident was just the beginning of what he described as a “nightmare”.
Jennifer Plantz was recently handed a conditional sentence of 15 months under house arrest after pleading guilty to criminal harassment and assault last week in relation to 22 false police complaints she made against Marsch over a three-year period. She is also facing three years of unsupervised probation and is ordered to not contact the victim.
Marsch was arrested three times, but when Plantz filed a protection order against him in 2022, police finally looked at the interactions between the pair.
Provincial Judge Raymond Wyant said at the hearing that Marsch was an innocent person “put through hell.”
“That man’s nightmare is never going to end,” he said at the time.
CTV News Winnipeg reached out to Plantz’s defence attorney for comment and Plantz by social media, but did not hear back by deadline.
'All it took was someone to go through the files'
Marsch is speaking out now to question why Winnipeg police did not investigate Plantz until 2022.
“All it took was for someone to go through the files to see what was happening between us and a lot of this could have been prevented,” Marsch said, adding he hopes his ordeal is over.
CTV News Winnipeg reached out to the Winnipeg Police Service to ask why Marsch was arrested so many times even though he was innocent.
However, police said it would be inappropriate to comment on evidence provided in court.
Marsch is warning others about the dangers of online dating but still lives in fear that he will run into his aggressor.
“It's such a small city, she is just going to be everywhere I go now.”
With files from CTV's Kimberly Rio Wertman
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING 122 active wildfires burning across Canada, 32 considered 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
'More aggressive': Tocchet shifts lineups as Canucks get ready to take on Oilers in Vancouver
As the Canucks prepare to take on the Oilers for Game 5, Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet is making changes to the team's lineup.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
Police issue Canada-wide warrant for Regina homicide suspect
Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for a man wanted in a homicide which occurred in Regina on May 12.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
Speaker cuts ties with Sask. Party, alleges he faced threats, harassment from gov't MLAs
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.