A 19-year-old man received his sentence for his role in the assault of a Barrie senior.
97-year-old Jean Knox lay helpless and afraid in her bed while two teens ransacked her home two years ago.
It wasn’t the sentencing the Crown wanted, after the grief and heartache the incident caused the Barrie senior, but on Friday a judge sentenced the teen to two years probation.
The teenager, who was 17 at the time of the attack, admitted he was drunk and high when he and a friend terrorized the senior who pretended to be asleep through the ordeal.
“It was really tough for her,” says a neighbour. “It must have been traumatic for her to experience something that horrible.”
Knox died earlier this year at the age of 99, but in a victim impact statement written before her death, she said the incident left her ‘angry and upset’ and forced her from her home for six weeks while repairs were made.
The two teens broke into her home on Sunnidale Road in the early hours on December 29, 2016, and vandalized it with eggs, ketchup, peanut butter,maple syrup, and other items, smearing the condiments on the ceilings, carpets, and floors.
Today, the 19-year-old apologized saying he has tried to change.
His mother was in the courtroom this afternoon supporting her son. She bowed her head and shed a tear as the judge read her decision.
The judge told the court she is satisfied a non-custodial sentence is appropriate for the accused with a strict curfew for the first year.
As part of his sentence, the teen will have to report regularly to his youth worker and perform 60 hours of community service along with continuing with his counselling. He's forbidden from having contact with his co-accused, as well as any immediate family member of Jean Knox.
