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Though we often mention the noncriminal consequences of a conviction, we generally must talk in the abstract because the stories are about people battling charges or who have just been convicted. This week’s story is about a realtor from Brampton who was charged with breaking and entering and theft who faced some very concrete consequences from the charges. Ultimately, the Crown withdrew the charges nearly one year after first charging him.
For those who doubt the fallout of being charged with a crime, take the case of this 39-year-old realtor to heart. It is not entirely clear who alleged that he was breaking and entering into a home, but since the charges became public, the realtor’s brokerage was inundated by calls about the charges. He was hounded so much that he eventually quit the brokerage and relinquished his realtor licence.
Though his wife was able to earn a realtor’s licence while he was unable to work, it is likely that the couple suffered financially because of the wrongful charges. The former realtor does want his licence back and he would like to rejoin the brokerage, but there are no guarantees that he will be able to do so. Even with the Crown dropping the charges, he says that people still give him the occasional glance.
Even when facing charges that are “unbelievable” like these, it is best to work with a criminal defence lawyer, as there is no guarantee that the Crown will notice that the charges are inappropriate without some prompting. Recovering from being wrongfully charged is hard enough, but recovering from a wrongful conviction has to be even harder.
Source: Toronto Sun, “Theft charges dropped against Brampton realtor,” Maryam Shah, April 13, 2014
