Month: December 2016

Certain professions require close physical contact between a professional and other people. Doctors and sports coaches are good examples of workers who fall into that category. There are times when what is intended to be innocent contact can be misconstrued and seen as unwelcome, or even criminal. A martial arts instructor from east of Toronto stands accused of sexual assault after an alleged incident involving one of his students. The instructor, a 32-year-old man, teaches jiu jitsu in Courtice, a small community outside the GTA. It is alleged that a strong friendship developed over the past three years between the man and one of…

For those individuals with a checkered history, the fear is always there that past deeds may forever alter the way others perceive them. A southwestern Ontario man who once faced disciplinary action for drug crimes, finds himself in trouble once more. He and another individual have been arrested, and he now faces two counts of drug trafficking. The accused is a 74-year-old pharmacist who had been working in Windsor and the surrounding area. Ontario Provincial Police officers arrested the pharmacist along with another man on Dec. 17. The specific charges against the second man were not reported, and no details about…

The truth of what happens behind closed doors is known only to those who were there. If one person claims illegal activity occurred, the burden of proof lies upon that person, but the accused may face intense scrutiny during an investigation, and may suffer personally and professionally. An alleged sexual assault has put two Toronto men at the centre of a police investigation, and may have repercussions at work. The incident is alleged to have occurred on Dec. 15 at a bar in Little Italy near College St. and Manning Ave. Toronto Police have reported that a 24-year-old woman claims she was given alcohol…

As every Canadian of voting age is doubtless aware, the federal government is planning to move ahead with its campaign promise to legalize marijuana. Police across the country are trying to prepare for seeing more drivers under the influence of illegal drugs. Here at home, Toronto Police are about to begin testing devices they feel may be useful in the fight against impaired drivers. The two different devices each have the ability to screen a saliva sample for a variety of drugs. Preliminary tests have shown the devices are able to detect if the test subject has recently used cocaine, opioids, methamphetamine…

Evidence is the cornerstone of most criminal prosecutions. The presence of illegal substances often throws all other evidence into shadows in a drug-related case. An abundance of physical evidence was the undoing of two individuals after a raid east of Toronto earlier this year. A home in central Kitchener was raided by police officers in March. Found in the home were quantities of drugs, including methamphetamine, crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Also found were 28 grams of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that has garnered a lot of media attention lately. One drug expert said that amount of the painkiller was enough to potentially…

No one intends to be in a car accident. And certainly no one intends to be the driver in a fatal accident that claims the life of a acquaintance and injures two others. One young man from Toronto has been charged with multiple crimes, including impaired driving, after a tragic crash in the city's downtown. The accident occurred on Nov. 28 around 10:15 p.m. near the intersection of Bloor Street East and Parliament Street. For unknown reasons, the car evidently left the road and struck a pole. No other vehicles were believed to have been involved. A 25-year-old male passenger was killed in the…

Few things can strike as much fear into the heart of a professional as allegations of misconduct. Simply continuing to conduct business in a normal manner may prove very difficult once a claim or claims of inappropriate behaviour have been made. A doctor who practices just west of Toronto now faces charges of sexual assault, as well as restrictions on his practice. In August of this year, Hamilton police were investigating a woman's claim that she had been sexually assaulted in June by a local neurologist. During the course of the investigation, a second woman came forward and made a similar…

When two people emerge from a closed environment and one alleges a crime was committed therein, proof can sometimes be elusive. When the allegation is sexual assault, however, the accusation alone can make life difficult for the other person. A situation like this recently led to the arrest of a Toronto man. Toronto Police officers arrested a 37-year-old photographer on Dec. 3, 2016 after a woman claimed the man assaulted her in her home. The assault is alleged to have taken place on Oct. 17 in the neighbourhood of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Spadina Avenue. According to a police news release,…

Being involved in a fatal car crash is a traumatic event in any person's life. For anyone alleged to be responsible for such an accident, the repercussions may be life altering. A young businessman from east of Toronto stands accused of impaired driving after a recent tragic collision. The accident occurred on the evening of Nov. 27 on Highway 7, west of Kitchener. A westbound vehicle was struck from behind by a second vehicle, and sent into a ditch between the eastbound and westbound lanes. Four people were in the first vehicle -- a husband and wife, his mother and their 2-month-old son. The driver…