Crown stays charges against man accused in 2021 frying pan attack on Elnaz Hajtamiri
A Mono, Ont. man, accused of being involved in the assault of a woman during a failed abduction in Richmond Hill in late 2021, had his criminal charges stayed by the Crown.
Harshpreet Sekhon, 27, was accused of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and aggravated assault in the attack on Elnaz Hajtamiri, who weeks later was kidnapped from a home in Wasaga Beach by three men who police say posed as officers with a warrant for her arrest.
The Crown announced the staying of charges on what supposed to be the start of a preliminary hearing for Sekhon in a Newmarket courtroom Monday morning.
Sekhon is one of seven men charged in the attack on Elnaz Hajtamiri in her underground parking garage December 20, 2021, when investigators said she was hit in the head with a frying pan and taken to hospital.
Elnaz Hajtamiri
Elnaz Hajtamiri suffered a head wound requiring roughly 40 stitches after an assault in a parking garage in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Dec. 20, 2021 (Supplied)
Sekhon was arrested two and a half years ago and has been out on bail since. He, along with several others, had been accused of playing a role in the attack on Hajtamiri, whose ex-boyfriend, Mohamad Lilo, was convicted of aggravated assault for orchestrating the attack weeks prior to her kidnapping in Wasaga Beach.
Hajtamiri had gone into hiding with loved ones at the request of police in York Region. She was left bloodied in the frying pan attack that was an apparent kidnapping attempt thwarted by a passerby, according to investigators. Loved ones claimed her car was found to have tracking devices on it.
Lilo was found guilty by a Barrie jury in June of hiring several men to follow, hurt and kidnap Hajtamiri who has not been seen or heard from by family since her abduction January 12, 2022.
Elnaz Hajtamiri and suspects
Top: (Far L) Elnaz Hajtamiri, (L) Mohamad Lilo, (R) Harshdeep Binner, (Far R) Riyasat Singh Bottom: (Far L) Harshpreet Sekhon, (L) Akash Rana, (R) Sukhpreet Singh (Far R) Jaspreet Singh
Harshdeep Binner, the man who hit Hajtamiri with the frying pan, pleaded guilty in June to assault with a weapon. His co-accused, Riyasat Singh, who recorded the attack on his phone, pleaded guilty in late 2022 and was deported.
Two others, Jaspreet Singh and Akash Rana, had their charges stayed by the Crown this year. Rana testified as a Crown witness during Lilo's trial last month, telling the jury he stole the car used by Binner and Singh when they assaulted Hajtamiri and fled the scene.
Another co-accused, Sukhpreet Singh, who was on the run wanted on a Canada-Wide warrant since 2023, was arrested last month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in San Antonio, Texas.
Sekhon appeared at the Newmarket courthouse in April during Binner's proceedings that resulted in a mistrial. He covered his face before saluting the camera on his way home.
The staying of charges means all preliminary hearing dates previously scheduled have been vacated by the court, giving the Crown one year to resume its prosecution of Sekhon should it be willing to do so.
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The trial, which began in Superior Court in early April and wrapped with closing arguments in mid-June, was roiled by procedural drama. A mistrial was declared within the first week, and a new jury had to be selected after a defence lawyer and a juror had a brief interaction over the lunch hour. A second jury was discharged after a juror sent a note accusing one of the defence teams of making fun of the jury. Carroccia and the lawyers then opted to move forward with a judge-alone trial. There were numerous arguments and trials within the trial about evidence, witnesses testifying to not remembering certain things under questioning, a long and tense cross-examination of E.M., as well as protests outside the court by people supporting E.M., and others backing the players. At the outset, the Crown emphasized that what is and isn't consent would be key in the trial. Leading up to Thursday's rulings, CBC spoke to Toronto-based lawyers Andrew Furgiuele and Gillian Hnatiw, who are not associated with the trial, to get insight and their views on possible outcomes. What if all the players are found not guilty? "They're done. They are free to go and subject to any potential Crown appeal," said Furgiuele, a criminal defence lawyer. "Their time as accused people would be over and they would be moving on with their lives. "That would be the end of the case and the end of the road for the prosecution in terms of trying to get a conviction against them. They'd be free." What if they are all found guilty? "Then the judge will have to decide whether they will continue to be released on bail or whether they'll be held pending sentencing," said Hnatiw, a civil litigator who frequently handles sexual assault cases. "I expect that they would be released and that a date for sentencing would be set." What if some of the accused are found guilty, some are not? 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Typically, before sentencing, judges will consider the background of each individual and their psychological states, said Hnatiw. They would also consider whether it was a first offence and whether the individual expressed remorse at the sentencing hearing. What if the Crown appeals? If the Crown doesn't like any of Carroccia's decisions, it has 30 days to file a notice of appeal, which would set out legal flaws in her reasoning. "The reasons are her roadmap, her legal roadmap as to how she made her decision. And those reasons are ultimately what would need to be scrutinized before either the Crown or the defence could assess whether they had much of a chance on appeal at all," said Hnatiw. "After that, it will go quiet for some time because they will be ordering and preparing the transcripts of all the evidence from the trial." WATCH | What we heard during June closing submissions at Hockey Canada sex assault trial: Closing arguments wrap at hockey sexual assault trial 1 month ago Hnatiw said there typically might not be any new evidence brought before a Court of Appeal. "They're really just scrutinizing what was before the trial judge and listening to arguments from lawyers about whether she got something wrong. You can obviously bring an application for fresh evidence, but that's a rabbit hole." However, Carroccia did rule to exclude some evidence from the trial: a text exchange between two witnesses described Dubé slapping E.M.'s buttocks, which the Crown fought to use. "If the Crown was to appeal any of these rulings and say that if we'd have been permitted to introduce this evidence, then the verdict may have been different, then they would be able to bring that before the Court of Appeal as part of the paper record," said Hnatiw. "It's very, very difficult for the Crown on appeal to get a conviction entered," said Furgiuele. He said the Crown would have to prove a significant error in the judge's legal reasoning and that the reasoning led to the acquittal. "Those would be the hurdles they would have to go over to convince the Appeal Court to overturn the acquittal and order a new trial." Hockey Canada sexual assault trial recap 1 month ago The sexual assault trial of five former world junior hockey players stretched across three months in London, Ont., before finally coming to a close with the last witness. CBC's Katie Nicholson breaks down some of the key moments and testimony. What if the players appeal? Like the Crown, the defence teams have 30 days to file a notice of appeal. "After sentencing is done, they would then go to file a notice at the Court of Appeal to signal their intention to appeal," Furgiuele said. "Accused people who are found guilty and then appeal, they have slightly broader rights of appeal. They can appeal questions of fact, so they can appeal that there's been a misapprehension of a fact, as well as all of the legal errors, or errors in a legal analysis." The statistics, generally speaking, are not good for individuals who appeal, said Furgiuele If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database.
