Former Ottawa TV weatherman J.J. Clarke charged with criminal harassment
Posted Mar 23, 2021 09:33:00 PM.
The Ottawa Valley's most famous TV weatherman has been arrested and charged with criminal harassment involving messages alleged to contain a disturbing reference to a convicted killer.
J.J. Clarke was arrested in January and held at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Innes Road, on seven charges of criminal harassment.
A source confirms to CityNews that Clarke, whose real name is Ron Rowat, is accused of sending messages to three people that made reference to Ottawa Valley triple murderer Basil Borutski.
Rowat's lawyer requested a publication ban on his client's identity, to protect his client's right to remain innocent until proven guilty.
“We didn't bring this publication ban application because it was J.J. Clarke, but rather because it was likely — and it's now proven to be so — that because of who he is…if there wasn't a publication ban there was going to be a story about him being charged with these offences,” said Lawrence Greenspon, Rowat's lawyer.
A judge denied the request, Tuesday, March 23, meaning the accusations can now be reported on.
Rowat was known as J.J. Clarke, supper-hour weatherman on CJOH-TV, which later became CTV Ottawa, from 1985 until 2020, when the station announced his departure. He also hosted the station's talent show Homegrown Cafe in the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to emceeing countless charity events in the region, including the CHEO Telethon.
“It's clear to me, from both the nature and the content of the charges, that he was not the same person that Ottawa has known and loved for those decades,” Greenspon told CityNews Ottawa. “So we really want to get into what was the background, what was going on in his mind at the time these alleged offences occurred.”
Rowat will plead not guilty, he added.
Greenspon said Rowat currently has Stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver, but that he is “in a safe place with friends who care for him,” and that his client's bail includes a number of conditions to keep him well.
