Infamous pick-up artist Dimitri the Lover rises to the legal defence of a student accused of lewd conduct.
On Friday afternoon, Pavlik Shkolnik, a.k.a “Pavel the Lover,” appeared in Ontario Superior Court to defend himself against charges of behaving “in a manner which would interfere with the ordinary enjoyment of persons using the transit system” (according to TTC bylaw 3.25), after an exchange with a female passenger. It wasn’t the first time that Shkolnik—who’s approximately 5’10”, 150 lb., and appears to be between 45 and 50 years of age—has been publicly accused of misbehaving on the TTC (although no previous charges had been laid).
In the words of his legal counsel, he was “talking to a woman, then the long arm of the law showed up.” That legal counsel is also his seduction mentor, James Sears—a.k.a., “Dimitri the Lover.” Sears is the founder of the pick-up-artist club Toronto Real Men, and has elected to provide pro-bono defence to men under his tutelage who are accused of sexual harassment.
“People are encouraged to hit on other people on the subway,” said Sears. “My client was singled out for some strange reason.” Fortunately for both Shkolnik and Sears, the ticketing officer did not appear in court, and the charge was withdrawn.
Sears said after the hearing that if any student of his organization “sexually assaults a woman, tries to rape her, whatever,” they’re entitled to his legal services. He suggested Shkolnik may simply need to polish his pick-up technique a bit in the future.
Reached after the court date, Colleen Westendorf, organizer of SlutWalk Toronto, suggested a different course of action. “I would start by advising Pavel, and every living, breathing human being, to stop listening or paying any attention to Dimitri,” she said.
