BY KEITH LACEY
A foolish Halloween prank almost cost a teenage girl her vision and almost cost a talented university student his freedom.
On Friday, Yves Fraser, 20, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm. He admitted he was the young man who threw an egg out of a car window on Halloween evening of 2003. Unfortunately, the egg hit a 13-year-old girl in the eye socket, forcing her to be rushed to Toronto?s Hospital for Sick Children.
Pieces of eggshell were lodged in the girl?s eye and she suffered a small fracture of her orbital bone. She had to spend two days in hospital, but surgery wasn?t required.
The good news is there doesn?t appear to be any permanent damage and there?s only a very slight chance she might suffer vision problems in the future, said assistant Crown attorney Len Walker.
Justice Robert Del Frate agreed a conditional discharge be imposed against Fraser, who court heard is an outstanding young athlete, citizen and son who had never been in any kind of trouble.
Fraser was placed on probation for 12 months and if he stays out of trouble, he won?t have a criminal record, said Del Frate.
Fraser must also perform 100 hours of community service and pay $500 to the victim and her family to help pay for expenses they incurred travelling to Toronto while the girl recovered.
Before sentence was imposed, Fraser issued a heartfelt written apology, citing the stupidity of his actions and the fact he didn?t mean to harm anyone.
Defence counsel Robert Topp said that in his 30 years of practising law he?s never represented a client who so many other people say good things about or who has so much support from family, friends and teachers.
Fraser is a fine young man who made a stupid mistake and his remorse is obvious and there?s virtually no chance he will ever get in trouble again,
said Topp.
The young girl?s victim impact statement was highlighted by Topp, noting the girl has shown no animosity towards Fraser and realizes this was a
stupid prank gone wrong.
Fraser?s written apology will be forwarded to the girl and her family, court heard.
Del Frate told the accused he was very fortunate the girl didn?t suffer any permanent eye damage or the court would likely have had no choice but to
impose a jail sentence.
?You were lucky that night and you are lucky today,? said the veteran judge. ?I hope you have learned a very valuable lesson.?
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