An anticipated guilty plea for the youth accused of terrorist activity in Kingston, Ont., has been deferred until early April, according to the teen’s counsel.
The youth, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was scheduled to be in court Wednesday for an “anticipated guilty plea,” but Simon Borys, one of the lawyers representing the accused, said they have deferred the case until April 7.
The teen was originally arrested in Kingston Jan. 29, 2019, following RCMP raids in the city.
He was initially charged with knowingly facilitating terrorist activity and counselling someone to use an explosive or other lethal device to cause death or serious bodily injury.
During his bail hearing, which took place over three days, he was additionally charged with allegedly possessing explosive materials and for taking action to cause an explosion.
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The teen was also facing an uttering threat charge for an incident that allegedly took place during his bail hearing in March of last year, but those charges were dropped in September by the federal Crown, who instead sought to focus on the terrorism-related offences.
Although the youth was originally released into the custody of two responsible persons following his bail trial, he was taken back into custody shortly thereafter for allegedly breaching one of his many conditions of release.
The teen has remained in custody ever since.
The youth’s case was originally being dealt with in Kingston, but was moved recently to Belleville, since the Quinte Courthouse had more amenities, like more courtrooms and better security screening.
Borys told Global News that the case is now being handled by Justice Elaine Deluzio, rather than Justice Stephen Hunter, who is soon set to retire.
The teen’s counsel would not comment on what he thought the conditions of the plea would be or what kind of sentencing might be anticipated if a guilty plea was indeed entered early April.
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