Crown:  T. Dimuzio, Office of the Crown Attorney, Toronto
Defence:  Craig Penney, Criminal Defence Lawyer, Toronto

¶ 1  CROWN:  Your Honour, I would like to speak now to the matter of D.G.

¶ 2  THE COURT:  All right.

¶ 3  MR PENNEY:  Yes, good morning, Your Honour. It's Penney, initial C., P-E-N-N-E-Y. D.G, could you make your way forward, please, and stand before Her Honour.

¶ 4  CROWN:  Thank you. Your Honour, the situation with D.G's matter marked for trial this morning was this ... I had an opportunity to look at this matter in some detail and essentially without getting into all of the specifics, it's a charge of criminal harassment (communicate) where the thrust of the charge is based on D.G calling the Toronto Children's Aid Society making a complaint against the alleged victim in this matter.

¶ 5  It's alleged that he called the Children's Aid Society on more than one occasion to make a complaint. However, in the circumstances, Your Honour, it certainly would be difficult for the Crown to prove the complaints were completely baseless. It may have been a legitimate complaint which, ultimately, was looked into and found to not have any merit to it but I think the Crown would have had great difficulty in proving that the basis of the complaint amounts to a criminal harassment.

¶ 6  Therefore, in all the circumstances, Your Honour, the Crown has no reasonable prospect of conviction and I would be asking the charge be withdrawn. However, I understand D.G wishes to make a comment to the Court as well about what has happened.

¶ 7  THE COURT:  That's fine. Was this a privately laid complaint or police laid?

¶ 8  CROWN:  It was police laid.

¶ 9  THE COURT:  It was police laid. Yes, D.G.

¶ 10  MR PENNEY:  Yes, he wanted to address, Your Honour, just as a means of bringing some closure because there were some difficulties arising ...

¶ 11  THE COURT:  He can certainly address me.

¶ 12  MR PENNEY:  Okay.

¶ 13  THE COURT:  Yes, go ahead.

¶ 14  CLIENT:  Your Honour, I wish to state today that I have moved on from my past relationship with [the complainant]. I have no reason to be contacting her personally, professionally or otherwise and will not be contacting her or anyone associated with her about her ever again.

¶ 15  THE COURT:  I am glad to hear that and the charge will be noted withdrawn.