Toronto men sentenced after posting murder witness testimony to '6ix' Instagram accounts

The Ontario Courthouse at 361 University Avenue in Toronto is photographed on Monday, May 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Following an unprecedented investigation by police, three Toronto-area men have been sentenced after posting images and audio of a key witness in a Toronto murder case on Instagram to an audience of more than 500,000 followers.

Kyle Stephens, 22, Ryan Taylor, 34, and Mohammed Abdalla, 26, all pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice last fall for posting the images and audio of the witness, who was testifying via Zoom in February 2021 at a preliminary hearing in a first-degree murder case.

The hearing was held virtually due to ongoing pandemic restrictions at the time, and over 250 people attended the Zoom proceedings, according to police.

On Feb. 23, 2021, the posts were made to the Instagram accounts "thehood6ix," "thewarinda6ix," “keep6ixsolid,” and “straightouttathe6ixtv.”

The case had a publication ban in place on the evidence given during that hearing, and authorities said posting the images and audio obstructed the course of justice and intimidated a justice system participant.

The accounts appear either to have been taken down. Instagram's policy states that accounts that have shared enough violating content can be banned. Archives of the accounts suggest their combined following exceeded half a million users.

In November 2021, police raided several addresses in Toronto and Brampton, and four men were charged with intimidating justice system participants, obstructing justice, and failing to comply with a publication ban.

“Each culprit thought he was shielded by the anonymity of their computer, but our investigators worked hard to look through their screens and identify them,” Toronto police’s Intelligence Services Superintendent Paul MacIntyre said in December 2021.

Three of the four men pleaded guilty only to obstruct justice and had the additional charges dropped, court documents show. The remaining accused, Afrah Mohamed, is scheduled to have a trial this summer.

On Thursday, Ontario Court Judge Phil Downes sentenced Stephen, Taylor, and Abdalla to two years of probation and 75 hours of community service each, the ruling states. Downes also adopted a suggestion that the trio not access Instagram or any other social network, unless they use an account under their own names.

CTV News Toronto has reached out to the legal representation of the three men for further comment but did not hear back by publication.

AN UNPRECEDENTED CASE: TPS

The Toronto Police Service had never investigated a Zoom trial being shared on social media, the service said in 2021.

The attention was likely drawn by the accused's high profile and alleged ties to gang activity, they said.

“On a few occasions, someone has snuck in a phone into court and taken a photo of people testifying or witnesses,” Toronto police Homicide Detective-Sergeant Amanda Thornton said.

“It is usually the accused they take a picture of because they like to show support for their guy and then they post it to their Instagram.”

In this case, the audience interrupted the Zoom court proceeding entirely, she said.

“They made it go viral and that can affect the trial, the witness’ life, and people in the future who have been asked to testify via Zoom,” she said.