Dragonfly fest organizer charged with assault, forcible confinement

A 32-year-old Ottawa woman mounted a daring escape from Usher Road on the morning of Sept. 16 after she was allegedly beaten and held against her will at an off-grid yurt near Rupert.

Police have charged David Schubert, 52, with assault causing bodily harm, forcible confinement and uttering threats. The woman has not been identified by police.

One neighbour described a frantic scene Saturday morning of a young woman banging on their door at around 7:30 a.m. pleading for help.

The neighbour said the woman was bleeding and had scrapes, bumps and bruises all over her face and arms. According to the neighbour, the woman was in a panic as she described how she had just escaped from a nearby property, where she was allegedly being held against her will.

“She was terrified,” the neighbour told the Low Down a few hours after the incident, visibly shaken. “She was beat up pretty bad. This morning she told me when [Schubert] left for a second and went behind a tent, she took off running and ended up here.”

According to the neighbour, whose name the newspaper agreed to keep anonymous out of safety concerns, the woman told her she had been at Schubert’s off-grid yurts on Usher Road since the Friday afternoon before, on Sept. 15.

The area around Usher Lake, which is between Rupert and Lascelles, is isolated, with just a few homes spaced kilometres apart. At night, it’s extremely dark and remote and would be difficult for anyone to find a nearby residence.

Schubert, who is known on Facebook as Raven Hill, was the organizer of the ill-fated Dragonfly Festival and became infamous around the village for his aggressive tactics as he searched for last-minute venues for his four-day music festival over the Labour Day weekend. Centre Vorlage owner Alexander Gaboury said he was forced to contact police for harassment after Schubert continued to promote his festival at Vorlage, even trespassing on the property, despite the event being cancelled at the ski hill.

As of press time, Schubert remained in jail awaiting bail.