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Social Worker Guilty of Attempted Murder

May 3, 2013 permalink

Ontario social worker Greg Simard has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the beating of a twelve-year-old autistic boy. From other stories, the boy is now an invalid unable to feed himself. Link to September story.

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Ontario social worker pleads guilty to trying to kill autistic boy

Greg Simard
Greg Simard
POLICE PHOTO

LONDON, ON - A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty to attempted murder Friday in the savage beating of an autistic boy in his care.

But a hearing must still be held to determine if Greg Simard is criminally responsible for the assault.

Simard pleaded guilty to a total of four charges. Some in the gallery sobbed while the facts of the case were read in court.

The boy, 12, was discovered in the woods outside the Child and Parent Resource Institute - where Simard worked - on Sept. 9, 2012.

The facility treats children with mental health and developmental issues.

After his arrest, Simard told police: "I did it for my country. He is a drain on society. His life is meaningless."

Simard was working on a short-term contract as a developmental service worker.

The hearing to determine if Simard is criminally responsible will begin Friday afternoon.

Source: Sun News Network

Addendum: Simard is found criminally responsible. He will go to jail, not to a psychiatric hospital.

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Simard Found Criminally Responsible

A judge has decided Gregory Simard is criminally responsible for a vicious assault on a 12 -year-old boy at the Child and Parent Resource Institute.

The decision means the 24-year-old will be sentenced to prison rather than sent to a psychiatric facility.

Simard pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the September attack on the young boy with autism who was beaten so badly that he suffered brain damage and cannot eat on his own.

Once the hearing was over the boy’s father, whose name is protected under a publication ban, spoke to reporters outside the court house.

He says the decision is a weight off his family’s shoulders.

Simard’s lawyer, Gord Cudmore, says the next step will be to look at the decision that was made and consider an appeal.

Last month, a hearing was held to determine if he was mentally fit enough at the time of the crime.

Cudmore argued his client was schizophrenic and could not have known what he did was wrong.

He pointed out Simard made no effort to hide his crimes, and even bragged about them, showing he didn’t know actions were wrong.

But the Crown argued Simard was more likely affected by a drug-induced psychosis than schizophrenia, and that’s not enough to be found not criminally responsible for the attack.

Assistant Crown Attorney Fraser Ball told the court Simard took the boy to the woods before beating him, and then fled the scene. He argued those actions are not indicative of someone who had no idea what he was doing was wrong.

During the proceedings, Simard sat quietly in the prisoner’s dock and with a blank expression on his face.

The 24 year old was arrested in September and accused of taking a child from the CPRI out of his room, and brutally beating him before leaving him in the woods behind the Institute’s campus on Sanitorium Road.

Simard has pleaded guilty to attempted murder of the boy, who was due to go home just four days after he was beaten. Simard told police quote “I did for my country” saying the non-verbal boy was a drain on society and that his life was meaningless.

The parents of the 12-year-old boy say their son was born with severe autism and was undergoing an evaluation at CPRI.

The boy spent six months in hospital after the assault suffering from severe brain damage and is now unable to walk, feed himself or go to the bathroom on his own.

His father says before they sent their son to CPRI they had done everything they could to support and care for the 12-year-old.

At the time of the assault, Simard was a Developmental Support Worker under contract at the CPRI.

The case returns to court July 5 to set a date for sentencing.

Source: Blackburn News

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