 Ontario MPP Christine Elliott is demanding to know exactly why charges were dropped against a teenage boy caught on a security camera peeping in the Marshalls' windows. (Sun Media/Michael Peake, file)
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TORONTO -- Ontario PC Christine Elliott is demanding to know exactly why charges were dropped against a teenage boy caught on a security camera peeping in the windows of a St. Catharines family.
In the legislature yesterday, Elliott said conflicting information from justice officials suggest the case was withdrawn either because there was little chance of conviction or to avoid recidivism.
"We don't have any clear answer as to what happened in the ... case because the matter never appeared in court," Elliott said.
As revealed by the Sun's Mark Bonokoski, the privacy of Pat Marshall and her two daughters was shattered by a young man living next door.
INFRARED CAMERA
A charge of criminal harassment was dropped by the crown without notifying Marshall.
"This family is still living in fear in their own house, there's now an infrared camera trained on her daughter's bedroom and they have to keep the windows and draperies closed in their house at all times," Elliott said. "It's ramping up and so I think it's really critical that we find out what the resolution of this case really was."
Attorney General Chris Bentley said he's concerned any time someone's privacy is invaded, and he encourages anyone in this position to take their complaints to police.
Bentley pointed out the job of Crown attorneys can be "very challenging and lonely" as they come to conclusions about facts in a case.
"If there isn't a reasonable prospect of conviction, the crown is duty-bound to stop the process," he said.
Elliott said she believes this situation could have been resolved differently if the justice system had been more open. As it is, the Marshall family does not feel safe because the young man still lives next door without court-imposed conditions, such as treatment, she said.
