Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story, based on incorrect information provided by Ottawa police, said Lance Crossley was convicted of a 2018 charge involving the statue. This story has been updated with court records that show Crossley was acquitted of that charge and the matter was resolved with a peace bond.
Hate crime investigators have charged a 48-year-old Ottawa man for threatening to damage a Buddha statue that he was charged for damaging in the past, police say.
The statue is located outside a Buddhist temple on the 1400 block of Heron Road in the city’s south end, an Ottawa police spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon.
Police began investigating a threat to vandalize the religious statue on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Const. Martin Dompierre declined to comment on how and to whom the threat was made, citing the ongoing investigation.
Officers arrested Lance Crossley Tuesday night and charged him with uttering a threat to damage property on Wednesday, Dompierre said.
Police originally said that Crossley had been previously charged with mischief and convicted for an incident in 2018 involving the same statue. Yet court records show he was acquitted of the charge at a trial in April 2019 and a 12-month peace bond was issued.
In this most recent case, Crossley had threatened to break the statue again, Dompierre said.
Investigators in the Ottawa police hate crime unit also charged Crossley for breaching his recognizance to keep the peace, the police service said.
The accused man was scheduled to appear in court on the new charges on Wednesday, according to the police service.
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