Ontario man charged in violent attack on B.C. teenager with autism
A young man has been charged nearly a year after an assault on a teenager in Richmond, B.C.
Mounties in the Metro Vancouver city announced Thursday that Dominic Rallon Jao has been charged with assault with bodily harm.
Jao, 21, is a resident of Ontario, the RCMP said in a news release.
His charge stems from an incident on the evening of Aug. 21, 2020.
It was reported that a teen with autism was playing basketball with a group of people in Richmond when he was assaulted.
The alleged assault was reported to police by two witnesses, but by the time the officers reached the scene, the victim was gone.
He was located in a nearby hospital with significant injuries.
About a week after the assault, which police called "unprovoked," the victim's family spoke to CTV News about the violent attack on the 18-year-old.
His family said the teen was playing basketball at Richmond Secondary School at the time. They said the teen was accused by his attacker of being too loud.
His friends, according to the family, explained that the teen has a developmental disability, and encouraged the attacker to let it go.
Instead, the teen was left with a badly split lip that needed stitches, lacerations and abrasions on his neck and arms, and a concussion.
The family said the teen left the scene of the attack and made his way home, where they found him disoriented, covered in blood and unable to explain what happened.
His parents took him to hospital, where he was later located by Mounties. It was police who explained to the victim's parents what had happened.
"Speaking to the victim's father it's evident the profound impact this incident has had on their family," Richmond RCMP Cpl. Adriana O'Malley said in a statement Thursday.
"This was felt by our investigators who worked tirelessly throughout this investigation to support and, in the words of the victim's father, 'create a mental comfort zone' for his son."
Back in August, police told CTV News they'd identified a suspect, but that charges had not been laid as they appealed for more witnesses to come forward.
The allegation against Jao has not been proven in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.