Along with a message about local traffic snarls, an email from a St. Catherine’s, Ontario city councillor’s government account contained a pornograpic image.
The email was sent to more than 100 recipients, including local media, and featured a picture of a nude woman with her legs spread apart pasted into the body of the text.
St. Catherine’s Mayor Walter Sendzik says he is “in shock” over the unexpected correspondence and wants Councillor Andy Petrowksi to resign over the incident.
But Petrowski says he didn’t send the image. Someone else did.
In a follow-up apology message, also sent via email, Petrowski claimed another person had mischievously sent the porno pic.
“I take full responsibility for the lack of judgement in leaving my Regional e-mail system unlocked,” Petrowski wrote in the second email. “I apologize to everyone for the previous e-mail just sent…this was sent in error as a terrible message by someone who was using my iPad I thought to send a private message. I am very sorry for this unacceptable and inappropriate transmission.”
The chairman of the Niagara region government, Alan Caslin, has also called for Petrowski to resign and says the email was “reprehensible and the conduct is completely unacceptable for a regional councillor.”
The mayor said he finds it hard to believe that the email was sent by an unknown third party, as the iPad from which the message was sent required the provision of the correct passcode.
“If you look at how it is written, if you look at the language, how it is phrased, that is how Councillor Petrowski writes,” Sendzik added.
This is not the first time that the councillor has suggested that an outrageous email sent under his name was actually transmitted by someone else. Just over a year ago, the local police chief saw a text message emanating from Petrowski’s phone that asked, “hello clown are you a tyrant?”
The councillor said he was separated from his phone at the time and that he was the victim of a prank.