Peter's Case — Criminal harassment — Sentenced

Client:  Peter C., Accused
Complainant:  Lara S., Peter's ex-girlfriend

Charges:  Criminal Harassment (threatening conduct), Mischief Under $5000, and Breach Recognizance

Background:  Peter was driving around Guelph with an awl in his pocket (an "awl" is a small metal tool, usually for punching holes in leather). He was a machinist and had crafted his own. At the time, Peter had outstanding charges in Milton concerning Lara, his ex-girlfriend. Letting his anger get the better of him, he set upon a plan to secretly damage Lara's car. It did not go as hoped. A witness saw Peter and called 911. Peter was arrested and held in custody. He was released three days afterwards. I was Peter's second lawyer.

READ THE POLICE REPORT

Goals:  Peter's goal was to beat the charges if possible; if not, "get me the best deal you can."

Strategy:  Peter's case was not sympathetic: it was a domestic; he had other outstanding charges involving Lara; he breached a Court order; his actions were pre-meditated and mean-spirited. Peter had maliciously set out to aggravate Lara's on-going stress and anxiety. He seemed incapable of leaving her alone. I identified two battle fronts. The first front was with Peter. He had to get help. As you can read in the links below, Peter did devote himself to meaningfully addressing the "why" of his behaviour. His efforts made a big difference. The second was with the Crown. They wanted Peter to go to jail for criminal harassment. In the hope of finding a more acceptable middle ground, I had a judicial pre-trial meeting with a Judge and the Crown. Nothing changed. The Crown's case was strong. The facts were unsympathetic. I was not anxious to have a trial. Not having much to lose, we scheduled a trial and hoped for the best. Peter continued his counselling. Months passed.

Results:  Two weeks before trial the Crown assigned to the case (someone I hadn't dealt with before) telephoned me to discuss the case. We found a middle ground. He agreed to accept a guilty plea to the mischief charge, to withdraw the other charges, and not to ask for jail. As you can read in the links below, Peter was not convicted. He was granted a conditional discharge (a record which is automatically purged from C.P.I.C. after 36 months).

READ THE GUILTY PLEA AND ADMITTED FACTS
READ THE SUBMISSIONS BY CRAIG PENNEY
READ THE SENTENCE BY THE JUDGE