For those following the ongoing Ontario cruelty case, it is glacially creeping closer and closer to trial. Crown Counsel Hamilton has made it clear that the province is fully prepared to pursue all charges against David Lee, Jason Leroy and Victoria Small, accused of nine counts of animal cruelty causing death. According to the OSPCA’s Melissa Kosowan, “Our investigation resulted in sufficient evidence to charge the three accused with permitting animals to be in distress, failing to provide adequate food and failing to provide care necessary for general welfare.”
A pre-trial date was set for December 4th and the judge stated unequivocally that the defendants must attend, with or without counsel since they have been provided ample time to seek individual lawyers. As noted in our last update, this was to avoid any conflict of interest issues between the defendants, but they had yet to do so at the time of the October 26th hearing.
While the pre-trial proceedings will not be open to the public, horse owners are encouraged to attend outside the courtroom to show how seriously the matter must be taken. For those able to attend, the hearing will be at The Tannery in Newmarket, Ontario at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom T3.
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