17 November 2010

Some Neighbours Feel Sentence
for Bridge Fire Too Light

Peterborough Ontario - Gayle Miller's home on Edgewater Boulevard is just metres away from the wooden bridge that burned down in mid-April.
 
Standing on the porch of her small bungalow on Tuesday morning (16 Nov 2010), Mrs. Miller says the day the bridge caught fire was very upsetting.
 
"I had been through my house being destroyed by fire as a child," she explains.
 
She says the sentence handed to the young boy who set the bridge on fire didn't go far enough.
 
On Friday (12 Nov 2010) Justice Esther Rosenberg sentenced the boy to two years of probation along with performing 70 hours of community service.
 
"I thought it was very light considering the damage that had been done," says Mrs. Miller.
 
Gord Graham, who moved to Maria Street just over a year ago, agrees.
 
"I don't think he [the accused] got enough for what he did. He cost a lot of money," explains Mr. Graham.
 
"You can't send him to jail, but he should have got something a little more strict."
 
But, as the court was told, the boy never intended to burn down the bridge.
 
Instead, on that mid-April day, the 14-year-old teen decided to fill a jerry can that he had found with $2 worth of gasoline from a local Shell station and make it into a Molotov Cocktail. He thought it would make a "cool" reaction.
 
He was going to throw it at the train tracks that run under the Edgewater Boulevard bridge, but he burnt his thumb, causing him to toss the cocktail towards the wooden bridge.
 
The facts of the case were read out in court by Justice Rosenberg on 12 Nov 2010 when the boy was in court for sentencing.
 
The court heard that after the bridge was set on fire, the teen told police the reason he did it was because he was bored. When he was being questioned by police, Justice Rosenberg said officers stated he didn't appear to be remorseful. Instead he smiled and bragged about how easy it was to do.
 
But, she notes, he did co-operate with police and on 13 Sep 2010 he pleaded guilty to reckless arson. She highlighted to the court the difference between intentional arson and reckless arson.
 
The estimated damage to the bridge, owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, is now pegged at around $400,000.
 
After the incident on 13 Apr 2010, the teen remained in custody until 10 May 2010 when he was allowed to go home. He then spent the next six months on house arrest.
 
When considering her sentencing, Justice Rosenberg said she took into account a number of mitigating factors including:  the boy pled guilty, he has no prior record, he was just 14-years-old at the time of the incident, it was reckless arson instead of intentional, he co-operated with police which meant no need for a lengthy investigation or trial, he has not breached his bail conditions for six months now, he has no new offences, he has voluntarily participated in a restorative justice conference through the John Howard Society, and although court has been told he is at a high risk to re-offend he has done everything asked of him up to this point.
 
"I wish you all the best. I hope you have success in your future and we don't have you back here again," said Justice Rosenberg to the teen.