New sex imagery charges for man accused in COVID protest hit, run

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This article was published 04/10/2022 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man charged in a hit-and-run near the Manitoba legislature in February, and later accused of posting nude images of women online without their consent, has been arrested again.

In May, Winnipeg Police Service domestic violence investigators charged David Alexander Zegarac, 43, with one count of publication of an intimate image without consent.

A woman, who had past been in a relationship with the accused, told police in April that naked photographs of her had been posted in 2015, the WPS said in early September when announcing the charge.

After that announcement, another victim identified herself in images posted online without her consent, Winnipeg police said Wednesday, telling investigators she was 16 or 17 when the accused allegedly took the photographs.

On Oct. 1, Winnipeg police arrested Zegarac at his Winnipeg home.

Police allege he was “extremely unco-operative” and officers used a Taser electroshock weapon on him. An investigator was hurt in the fray but didn’t need medical attention, police said Wednesday.

Zegarac was charged with three child pornography offences, luring a child under 18, another count of publication of an intimate image without consent, and resisting a peace officer.

He was released on an undertaking by the courts with Crown-imposed conditions.

The former lead of punk rock band Brat Attack, who was part of the Winnipeg music scene before moving to Newfoundland around 2007, was previously accused in a hit-and-run of four men protesting in Winnipeg against COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The incident happened on westbound Broadway at Memorial Boulevard at about 9:50 p.m. Feb. 4 — shortly after the weeks-long downtown protest began.

One man struck was taken to hospital and released; the other three suffered minor injuries, police said at the time.

A driver was arrested on the 4800 block of Portage Avenue about 40 minutes after the incident.

Zegarac was charged with four counts of assault with a weapon, four counts related to leaving the scene of a collision, two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.

A police spokesman said at the time the driver blurted out statements about the incident while he was being arrested, suggesting his motivation was not specifically about the underlying causes of the protest or COVID-19 mandates.

None of the charges in any of the incidents have been proven in court.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera