In the social media age, getting the right information out to the public has never been easier. Unfortunately, wrong information travels just as quickly.
Greater Sudbury Police said Thursday that posts circulating online are accusing a shopper at a local retail outlet of being Michael Tomasik, a Sudbury man who was declared a dangerous offender in 2017 because of a history of sex crimes involving children.
“Please be advised that the information circulating Facebook regarding an interaction of high-risk offender, Michael Tomasik with a mother and her child in Walmart is inaccurate,” police said in a post Thursday. “Our high-risk offender unit has reviewed video footage from the store where the alleged incident took place and has determined the post contains misinformation.
“The vehicle in the post does not belong to Michael Tomasik and he did not engage with these individuals in any way. The man seen shopping near the mother and the child was not Michael Tomasik.”
Tomasik was paroled in July and lives in the New Sudbury area under the supervision of the local federal parole office and police. Under the terms of his release, his access to young people and certain public places is tightly restricted. His day-to-day activities are being monitored, police said when he was released in July, and he must reside at a designated location having limited access to the community at large.
He is white, about 6-foot-2 and weighs around 275 pounds with short grey hair. Tomasik's most recent conviction came in 2016 when he was found guilty of trying to convince a prostitute to abduct a child so he could commit sexual assault. Instead, the prostitute strung him along until she had enough evidence from his text messages to alert police.
Tomasik was also found guilty of child pornography charges and was later declared a dangerous offender.
While understandably wary, police said the public should keep in mind the danger of falsely accusing someone of being a criminal online.
“We would like to take this opportunity to remind community members of the negative impact a post like this can have on an innocent individual where misinformation is spread at an alarming rate through social media,” police said. “The safety of our community and children in our community is a top priority.”
In July 2018, a post falsely accusing a motel in Wahnapitae of kicking out a firefighter because he smelled like smoke led to an avalanche of online attacks and hostile calls. In actuality, the firefighter hadn't made a reservation for the room and the hotel was fully booked.
In the Walmart case, police urged anyone who shared the incorrect information to delete it.
“The original post has been deleted and we would ask that anyone who generated their own post with the vehicle information, please remove it."
