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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.