Teen convicted in bomb plot case to be sentenced as adult
Last Updated: Friday, April 17, 2009 | 2:08 PM ET Comments16Recommend18
CBC News
The only person convicted so far in the Toronto bomb plot case, who was a youth when he began associating with a militant group, is going to be sentenced as an adult.
The man was found guilty last September of participating in a group that plotted to bomb buildings in downtown Toronto and storm Parliament.
The young man can't be named because a publication ban remains in force until he is sentenced.
He was 17 when he began his association with what the judge found was a terrorist training camp, but shortly after that turned 18.
He later shoplifted items for the group and dismantled a surveillance camera.
Justice John Sproat ruled on Friday morning that the majority of the crimes occurred after the man became an adult and that he should be sentenced as an adult.
The Crown wants a jail sentence of three years, a lengthy probation and a 10-year ban on possessing firearms.
Prosecutors also want the man to submit a sample of his DNA to be kept on record.
Credit for time served at issue
The man has already spent two years in custody — one year in a youth detention centre before his trial began and the past year in an adult jail.
The man also spent four weeks in what's called "secure isolation" at the Hamilton-Wentworth youth detention centre immediately following his arrest in June 2006.
A jail administrator told the court that meant he was allowed to shower, exercise and practise his religion, but only alone.
The defence said he was not allowed visits from his family during this period.
In a statement submitted to the court, the man described his future plans and asked for mercy. He said he was not a violent person and does not believe in violence.
Crown prosecutors said the judge's calculation of the man's credit for time already served will be crucial to the sentence.
If the man is given double credit for each day in pre-trial custody, he could be free as soon as the sentence is imposed.
That's something the federal government is trying to stop by issuing new guidelines telling judges not to automatically give the so-called "two for one" credit for time served before a verdict.
The man's lawyers will submit evidence about the conditions he endured in pre-trial custody.
