Log in & Sign up
You are not logged in.
Most Commented
Manon Pelchat, Bianca Leduc's grandmotehr, speaks with media at Valleyfield courthouse Friday. (GALBRAITH/The Gazette)
Accused in 3-year-old's death to be tried as minor
Wording error prompted ruling in case of toddler run down in Île Perrot
DAVID JOHNSTON
The Gazette
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Manon Pelchat, Bianca Leduc's grandmotehr, speaks with media at Valleyfield courthouse Friday. (GALBRAITH/The Gazette)
The habitual use of an old legal cliché came back to bite the
crown prosecutors' office in Valleyfield yesterday and paved the way
for an 18-year-old man to be tried as a minor.
The man turned 18 on Oct. 31, 2007, the same day that a car he was
driving was involved in an accident that killed 3-year-old Bianca
Leduc in suburban Île Perrot.
Because the charge sheet vaguely referred to the incident as
occurring "on or about" Oct. 31, the judge said she had no choice
but to give the 18-year-old the benefit of the doubt.
"On or about" means the day of Oct. 31, the day before or the day
after, said Quebec Court Judge Odette Perron.
Crown prosecutor Mélanie Dufour leaped up after the ruling and said
she wanted to change the wording on the charge sheet.
The judge refused the request. "(Quebec Court) declines to have
jurisdiction," Perron said, looking at Dufour.
As a result, the case will be heard in youth court, beginning July
29, with the man facing a charge of criminal negligence causing
death.
He plans to plead not guilty, his lawyer said yesterday.
Because the accused will be tried as a minor, the judge also ruled
the media can no longer reveal his name.
The "on or about" preposition - "le or vers" in French - has long
been used in law to allow for latitude in cases where the precise
time and date of an alleged infraction is uncertain.
But in this case, the record is clear. Bianca was run over and
killed at 1:20 p.m. on Oct. 31 as she was putting up Halloween
decorations on the front lawn of the home-based daycare she
attended.
Dufour had no comment. Mylène Grégoire, chief crown prosecutor for
the Valleyfield judicial district, said she would have no comment
either.
The 18-year-old's lawyer, Pierre Joyal, said he will not comment on
the ruling as long as the 30-day window for the Crown to file an
appeal hasn't expired.
But Joyal stressed that Perron's decision "is no victory" for his
client, since "there is no such thing as a victory in any case with
the death of a young child at the heart of it." In her judgment,
Perron suggested she would have ordered the 18-year-old to stand
trial as an adult if the Crown had been more precise about the date
of the infraction.
She cited a 2004 Alberta murder case as jurisprudence in support of
her decision. In that murder case, a man who turned 18 on Jan. 1,
2004, was charged with a murder "on or about" Jan. 1.
He ended up being tried in youth court.
The identity of the 18-year-old charged in Leduc's death has been
widely publicized in the eight months since the young girl's death.
"For sure I'm disappointed" said Leduc's grandmother, Manon
Pelchat.
"But I'm still hopeful that justice will play its role." Perron
said she is going to preside over the case in youth court.
Despite the transfer to youth court, the 18-year-old can still be
issued an adult sentence.
For that to happen, the Crown would have to make sure that it
doesn't forget to ask for an adult sentence on the opening day of
trial proceedings in youth court.