A man convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life after his toddler son died of bacterial meningitis will be hosting an in-store seminar tonight at a Prince George health food store.
Ave Maria owner Dave Fuller said David Stephan had made appearances prior to the conviction and customers had asked when he would be coming back.
"To be honest with you, I had some reservations because I know the case is still on people's minds and it's quite a controversial case," Fuller said.
But he also noted the case is under appeal and Stephan told him he would have done things differently if he knew his boy had meningitis and not the flu as first suspected. And he said Stephan will be there to promote an unrelated product aimed at dealing with mood disorders.
News of Stephan's appearance caused a stir on social media and Fuller said there are "definitely some haters" but contended there has been a groundswell of supporters.
Fuller expects he will lose customers over the decision.
"But we're trying to do what's right," Fuller said. "We're trying to provide products that really make a difference in people's lives and this is one of them so if they had a different spokesperson maybe that would be better for us but I guess that's David's choice to do that and I took a chance on it and here we are."
In June, Stephan was sentenced to four months in jail and wife Collet to three months house arrest after they were convicted by a Lethbridge, Alberta jury in April. Their son, 19-month-old Ezekiel died in March 2012.
The Crown said the Stephans had been warned by a friend who was a registered nurse that the boy probably had meningitis but continued with a regimen of naturopathic medicine rather than take him to a hospital.
Fuller said Stephan was too tied up to speak with The Citizen. "And he's limited in what he can say because his appeal's coming up," he added.
The appeal will be heard in March.
