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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2011-05-19, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011. PAGE 11. A Brussels man who successfully appealed a 2008 conviction for sexual assault, pled guilty to lesser charges in the Ontario Court of Appeal in Toronto on March 21. Following his appeal of the earlier conviction, Scott Somers was found guilty of unlawful entry with intent to commit an indictable offence and obstructing justice. Somers was sentenced to six months of house arrest and 12 months of probation for charges stemming from an incident in 2004. Somers’ house arrest will expire on Sept. 21, with the probation period to run from Sept. 21, 2011 until March 21, 2012. As a condition of the probation, a curfew has also been installed requiring Somers be home between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. during the probation period. The terms of Somers’ house arrest state that he may leave his home to attend employment and to travel directly to and from his job, to attend counselling, for medical and dental emergencies in his family, for three hours every Sunday between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., to attend church services and to travel directly to and from church services and for prearranged medical appointments. In December 2008, Somers had been sentenced to four years in a federal penitentiary after being found guilty of sexual assault in a June 2008 trial in Goderich. He appealed both the conviction and the sentence, however. Before the Ontario Court of Appeal, Somers’ counsel Daniel Stein of Toronto argued the trial judge had acted improperly in not informing the jury that the defendant could have been under the mistaken impression he had been given consent to participate in sexual intercourse. The Appeal Court Judges agreed, ordering a new trial. Instead of proceeding with a new trial, Somers chose to plead guilty to lesser charges. In a statement of fact agreed to between Huron County assistant crown attorney Teresa Donnelly and Stein, Somers entered the victim’s house in the middle of the night on July 10, 2004, had sexual intercourse with the victim, then later lied several times to police, during repeated interrogations, about being in the house. A Brussels-area man was cleared of 10 charges that he failed to comply with conditions of his bail in Wingham Court on May 12. After the testimony of two witnesses had been heard, Judge R.G.E. Hunter had seen enough and called both lawyers into his chambers. When they emerged, Crown Attorney Perry Hill withdrew all charges. Marco Mirotta was charged with knowingly attending an address that he was allegedly supposed to stay 100 metres from under terms of bail that were set late last year. Mirotta’s defense attorney Phil Cornish, however, argued that the address Mirotta had attended belonged to his ex-girlfriend’s parents and that the visits were made so he could see his children. The conditions, made in October, 2010, stated that he not attend any address associated with his ex-girlfriend Victoria Albrecht. Shortly after the terms of Mirotta’s bail were finalized, Albrecht was incarcerated for several months. Mirotta, however, had been granted visitation by the Huron-Perth Children’s Aid Society, which was a condition of him seeing his two children (both of whom he had fathered with Albrecht). It wasn’t until mid-March, 2011, however, that Albrecht’s mother Norma was notified by her daughter that perhaps Mirotta was not allowed to be on the property on Newry Road in Huron East. Norma called the police on March 17 and filed a report, eventually filing retroactive charges for visits Mirotta made to the property to pick up or drop off his children. After several allegations of domestic assault on Mirotta by Victoria in October, the Children’s Aid Society got involved, first taking custody of the couple’s two young children and then placing them in the care of Victoria’s parents. During cross-examination, however, Victoria admitted that the allegations she filed against Mirotta in October for assault were false. Cornish said that Victoria had sent him a letter admitting that the allegations were simply made up. “You’re not beyond making up allegations to get Mr. Mirotta in a little trouble?” Cornish asked Victoria, to which she responded in the affirmative. “Sure,” she said. The charge to which Cornish referred, was indeed withdrawn, but a peace bond was entered into. Victoria also admitted that she had significant problems with the law in the time leading up to making those allegations. Cornish said Victoria was involved with hard drugs and several theft charges before being incarcerated on Nov. 27, 2010 until she was released on Feb. 15, 2011. The charges included Break and Enter, Mischief under $5,000, Failure to Attend Court, and Flight from Police. When examined, Norma, who had kept substantial notes of the events, said that she was unaware of any condition that would keep Mirotta from seeing his children or attending the property (as long as it was allowed by the Children’s Aid Society). Norma said that it wasn’t until Victoria was released from jail and she was living in Listowel (at her current address) that she mentioned that Mirotta may have a bail condition that would prevent such visits. Norma said that Mirotta would typically stay for approximately 15- 20 minutes per visit and Cornish suggested that while Norma only recounted a handful of visits, that the actual number was perhaps closer to 30 visits. Norma disagreed with this number and felt her math on how many visits there had been was closer to being accurate. Hill eventually withdrew all of the charges against Mirotta. ASSAULT Jeremy Vorsteveld of Wingham pled guilty to an assault charge stemming from an incident on Dec. 16, 2010 where he was said to have assaulted his then-girlfriend. Hill said that police responded to the couple’s home on Dec. 17 after an extremely lengthy dispute had been ongoing between Vorsteveld and his then-girlfriend. At some point during the lengthy altercation, Hill said, Vorsteveld had pushed his girlfriend to the ground and was holding her down as she attempted to escape his grasp. Judge Hunter granted Vorsteveld a conditional discharge and 12 months probation. Vorsteveld was also asked to attend counselling, was issued a five-year weapons prohibition and will not be allowed to see his former girlfriend without prior written and revokable consent. MISCHIEF UNDER $5,000 Rodney Wilton of Brampton, formerly of the Brussels area, was found guilty of Mischief under $5,000 as a result of an incident with his wife on April 10, 2011. The incident occurred on Morris- Turnberry when he began arguing with his wife of 23 years. Police were called to the home by one of the couple’s two adult daughters at approximately 11:30 p.m. that night. Wilton was asked to leave the home when the argument got too heated, which he did. He returned shortly after, however, looking for his bank card. While in the house, Hill said, Wilton was given his bank card, but while packing some of his possessions, he became angered and began causing damage to the home. Several pieces of drywall were damaged including the hallway leading to the couple’s bedroom and the drywall in the “mud room” near the front entrance of the home. Hill said that Wilton had also thrown his cellular phone around the mud room, breaking a window. Duty Counsel John O’Donnell conceded that Wilton had a lengthy record, with offences dating back to 1984, but that Wilton had been generally well behaved in recent years, with the most recent offence being in 2003. Wilton was given a $500 fine, in addition to $300 of restitution that he would make to his wife. He was given 30 days to pay the restitution and 60 days to pay the fine. He was also given 12 months of probation. Brussels-area man cleared of 10 breach of bail charges Lending a hand Members of the Brussels Lions Club were on hand Saturday night to lend their services to the graduating class of Brussels Public School. The Grade 8 students were raising money for their graduation and over 200 diners came out to a fish fry at the Brussels Legion to help them do just that. Fryers were, from left: Andy Overholt, Murray Lowe and Barry Currie. (Jim Brown photo) Brussels man wins appeal of four-year sentence The Municipality of Central Huron is pleased to announce their annual Central Huron Façade Grant Program. The Program includes façade improvements for all properties in Central Huron that are assessed as Commercial for taxation purposes. The Municipality has set aside funds to assist property owners in the expansion or improvement of the building façade or signage. Budget The current 2011 Façade Grant Program budget has been set and is divided into two program releases (a maximum of $5,000 of matchi$#"! $""$"""! $""" "$""!" " !"""""$"$""June 1st, 2011. Funding may be in the form of a cash or in-kind contribution. To Qualify The structure for the proposed enhancement must be within Central Huron and must currently be assessed as Commercial, in whole or in part, for taxation purposes. The proposed façade improvement must meet "!" "" $"$""" $"$"$"$$"" " appeal of the structure from a streetscape viewpoint. The application must be completed in its entirety and must receive approval prior to the completion of the works. It is understood that the applicant will be reimbursed the grant amount following the completion of the works and submission of all project receipts. Successful applicants will be required to submit a post project report identifying the use of the funds. Application Applications for funding should include: Description of the project Timeline for completion of the work Budget for proposed project Visual representation of the proposed project Supporting information, as appropriate Amount of funding requested, specifying whether a cash or in-kind donation is required. Deadline Applications must be received by 12:00 noon Wednesday, June 1st, 2011. If you have questions or comments please direct them to the Municipal office at 519-482-3997. Applications are to be addressed as follows: $" $""$"# Attention: Brenda MacIsaac, Clerk Municipality of Central Huron P.O. Box 400, 23 Albert Street Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0 Interested parties must contact the Municipal Office to receive a copy of the Façade Grant Program Policy and Application Form before applying for funding. The Municipality reserves the right to fund projects as deemed appropriate. The Municipality of Central Huron is pleased to announce their annual Central Huron Donation Fund. The Municipality will again set aside funds to assist and promote community-based non- profit organizations. Funding is also available for national and international non-profit organizations whose programs demonstrate a direct benefit for the residents of our municipality. To Qualify Organizations must be non-profit. Proposed programs or events must clearly demonstrate a direct social or economic benefit for residents of Central Huron. Successful organizations will be required to submit a post project report identifying the use of the funds. Application Applications for funding should include: Description of program or event Date of program or event Organization budget for proposed program or event Targeted resident group, if appropriate Supporting information including statistics for previous similar projects Amount of funding requested, specifying whether a cash or in-kind donation is required. Deadline for applications must be received by 12:00 noon Wednesday, June 1, 2011. If your organization has questions or comments they should be directed to the Municipal office at 519-482-3997. Applications are to be addressed as follows: Attention: Brenda MacIsaac, Clerk Municipality of Central Huron P.O. Box 400, 23 Albert Street Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0 The Municipality reserves the right to fund only programs or events as deemed appropriate. alrtentCofytilpaiciMunheT hetounceanno td seealps ion urH tonaDon urHalrnteCalannurihe onit yffyialuo QT marogr pseons whoiatzanigor Fundingons. iatzanigrotioffipr liwytipalciiMunhe TFund. alrtentCofytilpaiciMunheT oniatcipplA jooj prostt a pttisubmo d teriequr tiffibenec iomonecroalisoc pr- be nonusts moniatzanigrO oul shngndiuunffurosffooniatcipplA orffotineffi betecr die ataatronstms dem natorffoe lablaiavso als iFunding and stsiaso tundsffude iastsen aiagll hetounceanno td seealps ion urH tff ousehe tngiyffyitdenntitrepo rtecj on. urHlartenntCfos ntdeiesrorffo ent evs oramrogrd ppose. 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BP.O ytialpciMuni cIMaendarB on:itenntttA be aoe trs aoniatcipplA 3997. -482519- evs ormarog prynlund offuo thtgihe r M 1L0 0o Niart teerttr Strbelox 400, 23 A onruur HalrnteCoffy krel, CacsacI :sowlolffo asdseesddr be a e.taioprprped amdees s aent ev By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Get information on Huron County attractions on the Stops Along The Way section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca