Local News Channel

Woodstock Police Chief Hopes to Strengthen Kidnapping Laws

Chelsea Vella — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:27:00 GMT

Woodstock Police Chief Rod Freeman has been invited to speak Thursday to the House of Commons Standing Committee in relation to a private member’s bill calling for a minimum 5-year jail sentence for offenders convicted of kidnapping a child under 16 years of age.

Right now, unless there is a firearm involved or organized crime is involved, there is no minimum jail sentence.

David Wilks the Minister of Parliament for Kootenay-Columbia, British Columbia, has tabled private member's Bill c-299 calling for a 5 year minimum jail sentence for those offenders convicted of kidnapping a child under 16 years of age when the offender is a stranger to the victim (Not a parental-type abduction).

Chief Freeman says, "It is truly a privilege to appear before the House of Commons Justice Committee given our community’s tragic experience of having Victoria Stafford ripped from her family and our community by two now convicted child killers. "

He says he hopes he can make even a small contribution to ensuring offenders are held accountable and properly punished, to deter child kidnappings.

London Could See Gambling Expansion

Jill Young — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:49:00 GMT

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is naming London as one of the new provincial gaming zones that could see some upcoming development.

The official announcement - expected Friday, could see London's Western Fair District expand gambling opportunities with table games.

Western Fair's Hugh Mitchell says it means they'd have to do some renovations to accomodate that.

Mitchell says with table games like Blackjack and Poker, it would require the need for more staff so it would mean more jobs.

The deal would still involve OLG but would have Western Fair District managing the labour and capital investment.

Judge Defends Omitting Evidence in Rafferty Trial

Jill Young — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:17:00 GMT

The judge in the Michael Rafferty murder trial is standing behind his decision to rule out mounds of evidence of interest in child porn seized from computers and an iPod Touch belonging the now convicted killer of 8-year-old Tori Stafford.

He addressed the matter in court yesterday before sentencing Rafferty to a mandatory life term in prison...

Justice Thomas Heeney said this is not the first, or the last time evidence based on the character of an accused person will be omitted, telling the court it's part of ensuring a fair trial under the charter, and he felt it was "important" to respond to the criticism to protect faith in the system.

Notwithstanding the fact, he says, that the evidence was gathered through an admitted breach of Michael Rafferty's rights, Heeney says that admitting character evidence has "potential to lead a jury to conclude that a person is guilty of the crime, even if the evidence proving that person's actual involvement is lacking.

Staring into the public gallery, Heeney told the courtroom "it can, and has in the past, lead to wrongful convictions," and that without that evidence in play, there's no doubt the jury made the right decision.

London's Downtown Receives Top Marks Among 10 Canadian Cities

Chelsea Vella — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:05:00 GMT

Despite the small size of London's downtown core, a new national report gives London high marks for downtown investments and planning policies making it an economic hub.

The report is by the Canadian Urban Institute and was released today in Ottawa.

It examined 10 downtowns across Canada including Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.

London’s core occupies only .2 per cent of the city’s total area but contributes 9 per cent of the city’s property taxes.

The report praises London for its $174 million put towards investements like building the John Labatt Centre, Covent Garden Market, Convention Centre and Central Library.

London leads the other cities for downtown office space with 81 per cent.

The forest city also has a significant concentration of jobs in the core, with 30,000 workers in the downtown.

London was also commended for encouraging walking and transit use. Only 44% of downtown residents use their car to get to work compared to 73% city wide.

Charges Laid After Fatal Motorcycle Crash

Shannon Wise — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:49:00 GMT

Police have charged the driver of a car, after a fatal motorcycle crash last month.

22-year-old Jonathan Sullivan was killed on his motorcycle after colliding with a car at Southdale and White Oak Road on April 13th.

Police say now they have laid charges against the female driver of the car, for an unsafe turn.

Her identity is not being released.

Salvation Army Firm on Bethesda Deadline

Jill Young — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:45:00 GMT

Now that Justin Bieber has pledged to give some of the proceeds from his new song to saving the Bethesda Centre in London, there's hope the money comes through in time.

The centre for young mothers and their babies is slated to close May 31st, and if enough money hasn't been raised, the Salvation Army has no plans to budge on closing it on that date.

Salvation Army Major Pat Phinney says the deadline is firm.

Sarah Brooks with Save Bethesda says she isn't happy about the Salvation Army's firm stance when so much has been raised so far.

The goal is 1.5 million, and the running total of funds gathered so far is just over 118-thousand dollars.

Bieber and his mother Pattie Mallette, stayed at Bethesda when she was just 17.

Saunders Mourning Loss of Teacher

Jill Young — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:51:00 GMT

It's one of the biggest cancer fundraisers at a London High School, and this year, Saunders Secondary School raised over 47-thousand dollars.

But also this year, the students and staff are mourning the loss of one of their own- teacher Rob Maronets, who passed away on Saturday after a year-long battle with cancer.

His wife says Maronets would have been so proud of the students' fundraising, which in 11 years, has raised over 530-thousand dollars in total.

Fireworks Sparking Concern for Fire Department This Long Weekend

Chelsea Vella — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:43:00 GMT

The London Fire Department is urging residents to include fire safety in their Victoria Day Weekend plans, especially when it comes to fireworks.

Fire and Life Safety Educator Jason Poole ecourages Londoners to go out to the organized display at the Fanshawe Conservation area.

But he knows that isn't always reality, and sometimes people like to do their own, which concerns him about safety.

Poole says sparklers are something the Fire Department wishes people wouldn't hand out at all.

"Sometimes they give the sparklers to kids that are just too young to use them and it can cause some pretty good burn injury by using a sparler when they are not really old enough. You know they could tip over or kids try to touch them with their tongues and it's just something we really don't want happening."

Lighting only one firework at a time, never lighting a firework in your hand, and soaking the fireworks for 30 minutes before disposing them at the local landfill site are some other safety tips.

Poole says usually if they get a call it involves a firework striking the side of the house, but that so far they have not received any calls regarding property damage...and they hope to keep it that way!

Drug Charges Laid Against London Pair

Jill Young — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:51:00 GMT

A pair from London are facing drug charges.

London Police did a search of a home on Greenwood Avenue yesterday afternoon and uncovered marijuana, marijuana plants, miscellaneous other drugs, and cash.

39 year old John Henry and 42 year old Tammy Zarski are charged.

Justice Thomas Heeney's Comments From Rafferty's Sentencing

Jill Young — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:31:00 GMT

"There has been a great deal of negative media comment over the past few days relating to evidence of bad character that was excluded during this trial. Much of this criticism demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of some basic concepts upon which our criminal justice system operates. Since people tend to believe what they read, this has the potential to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice. It is, therefore, important that I take a moment, at the outset of my comments on sentencing, to explain these basic concepts, and thereby correct any misapprehension that may exist.

Michael Thomas Christopher Stephen Rafferty, has been found guilty by a jury of his peers on all three counts on the indictment.

He has received a fair trial. Some believe it was too fair. His trial was fully respectful of the rights that are guaranteed to him under our Charter as a citizen of this great country. Mr. Rafferty was not convicted based on his character, he was convicted based on his conduct. Character evidence is presumptively inadmissible under our law for a reason. Character evidence speaks volumes about his deviant nature, but that is more relevant to who he is, as opposed to what he did. Being a pervert does not mean that he is a murderer.

The law in this country has long recognized that admitting evidence of this kind has enormous potential to lead a jury to conclude that a person is guilty of the crime even if the evidence proving that person’s actual involvement is lacking. Such is the power of character evidence. It can, and has in the past, lead to wrongful convictions.

Instead, the jury in this case convicted the accused solely on the basis of solid, admissible and overwhelming evidence that was directly relevant to the heinous deeds committed by Rafferty and his partner in evil on April 8, 2009. There can be no doubt that the jury got it right.

The character evidence in question was not only presumptively inadmissible, it was obtained through an admitted breach of the Charter rights of the accused. There are some commentators, and many or perhaps most members of the public, who think that he should have been denied the protections that the Charter has to offer. But we are privileged to live in a country that so values the personal freedom of all of its citizens that we have entrenched in our law the principal that everyone accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent, until his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Unless we are prepared to admit that we need only pay lip service to this great principal, what justification could there be for denying the rights of an innocent man?

But with the verdict of the jury, that presumption of innocence has been stripped away, revealing who he really is: a child abductor; a child rapist; and a child murderer."