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Niagara Falls
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Teenager identified as suspect in rainbow crosswalk vandalism
Police have identified a 15 year old St. Catharines boy in vandalism of rainbow crosswalk.

A 15-year-old boy from St. Catharines has been identified by Niagara Regional Police as the person who defaced the town’s rainbow crosswalk three weeks ago.

The police released images of a person last week doing burnouts on the crosswalk on an ATV while dressed in pink shorts, no shirt and a black, full-face helmet.

The suspect was identified on June 19, 2023, as a 15-year-old male resident of the city of St. Catharines,” police said in a news release Wednesday.

Police noted the Youth Criminal Justice Act requires investigators to consider the use of extrajudicial measures before deciding to charge a young person.

So, rather than charging the minor, police said they have taken measures to hold him accountable.

Extrajudicial measures, according to the government of Canada’s website, take place “outside the formal court process.” 

These measures include formal warnings from the police, referrals to community programs or other sanctions such as forcing a youth to complete community service, pay for damages or participate in special programs.

Such punishments are used in “all cases where they are adequate to hold a young person accountable,” says the government’s website.

These measures are “presumed to be adequate” where the offender has committed a non-violent crime, even when the offender has previously been punished with extrajudicial measures. 

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