BY KEITH LACEY
The Crown is expected to ask for a lengthy jail sentence for a young Sudbury man accused of taunting, following and then severely beating a gay teenager and throwing him down a set of stairs three months ago.
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Steven Gustafson, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to numerous charges, including aggravated assault, mischief and breach of court orders.
A pre-sentence report will be prepared before Justice William Fitzgerald sentences Gustafson Dec. 13.
Court heard five days before the attack against the gay teenager on August 30, Gustafson got severely intoxicated at a former girlfriendÂ?s apartment and went wild throwing around furniture and smashing household items, including a television set.
Assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg told the court Gustafson threw the television set through a window and it landed on the hood of a truck outside, causing hundreds of dollars in damage.
Gustafson also kicked and punched a door and windows and caused about $1,000 in damage to the television and household items, not including the damage to the truck.
On August 30, Gustafson and a friend were at the entrance to a downtown bar when they both started hurling insults about a young manÂ?s sexual orientation, said Zylberberg.
Eventually, they followed the young man to a second establishment nearby, and they attacked him by knocking him to the ground and then repeatedly kicking and punching him. The victim was quite intoxicated at the time.
After this, evidence revealed Gustafson picked the young man up from the floor and commented Â?are you a queer or whatÂ? and proceeded to throw him down several stairs.
The victim suffered serious head injuries and had to spend 25 days in hospital, said Zylberberg.
Gustafson and his co-accused tried to tell police they had nothing to do with the victim falling down the stairs, but a videotape, which will be played at the sentencing hearing shows Gustafson was responsible for picking his victim up and tossing him down the stairs, the Crown attorney said.
An employee at the second bar said when he discovered the victim he was limp and breathing irregularly and looked Â?terribly hurt. Â? An ambulance was called immediately.
At hospital, the victim told police he didnÂ?t know his attackers and only remembers being pushed down the stairs after being beaten up.
A witness who knew the victim, Gustafson and his co-accused told police the co-accused called the victim Â?a fÂ?ing fagÂ? at the first bar and the witness told the victim it would be a good idea to leave the table they were sitting at.
Later on that evening, Gustafson and his co-accused bragged about being in a fight, the witness told police.Lawyer awarded $700
A civil jury awarded a Sudbury lawyer less than $700 Monday after deliberating for about three hours in a rare civil jury case that dragged on for a week.
Local barrister Leo Arseneau filed a civil lawsuit against James Donison, a Sudbury man in his early 70s, relating to an incident dating back more than three years ago.
Arseneau claimed civil damages alleging Donison assaulted him with a golf club when the lawyer and his son Lee tried to serve court documents to DonisonÂ?s wife July 10, 1999.
Donison counter-sued, alleging it was he who was assaulted by the Sudbury lawyer.
He also claims Arseneau and his son illegally trespassed onto his property, and ArseneauÂ?s civil action against him was a malicious prosecution.
In the end, the jury found Donison guilty of assault, but made clear by their ruling they believed this was not a case worthy of awarding large financial damages.
The jury, which could have awarded a large amount of compensation to the plaintiff, instead awarded Arseneau $250 for pain and suffering and just under $400 for the fact Arseneau was unable to golf at a private Sudbury club for several weeks after his wrist was fractured.
