Sudbury man learns wiping feces on store worker is assault with a weapon
He had also refused to attend court to deal with his charges on seven different occasions, leading to more time spend behind bars than needed
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A homeless Sudbury man who wiped his feces on a Value Village employee will spend another week in jail after admitting to assault with a weapon.
“Mr. (Pierre) Gauthier: I don’t think I have to tell you what brought you here today was a very unspeakable, disgusting act: to wipe (feces) on someone else,” Ontario Court Justice Graham Jenner told Gauthier. “In such situations, you have to respond differently, whether it’s walking away or standing up for yourself with words.”
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“It was in haste – hasty,” replied Gauthier.
Gauthier had pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon for what happened on Sept. 27 at Value Village.
The Crown and defence lawyer Mira Ross suggested a sentence of one day in jail, time served, and crediting Gauthier with 115 days of custody toward an unrelated six-month conditional sentence.
They also suggested collapsing the balance of the conditional sentence, leaving Gauthier with 65 days to spend in custody, plus a one-year probation order and a DNA order.
Instead, Justice Jenner opted to issue a seven-day sentence and allow Gauthier to complete the balance of his conditional sentence after being released, in addition to the probation and DNA orders.
“As disgusting as your actions were in September, I have to be mindful of restraint,” said the judge.
Gauthier, 50, has been in custody since his arrest in December. The court heard that Gauthier had declined to leave his cell at the Sudbury Jail to attend court seven times before he was sentenced.
The judge told Gauthier that his refusal to attend court was not wise.
“For a long time, you did not come to court,” said Jenner. “But, I hope you are not discouraged in the future from coming to court. Today, it’s actually less time (the short sentence) than you have spent in custody. You may have got your liberty sooner.
“If you find yourself in custody in the future, I think you may find it to your benefit (to attend court).”
The court heard Gauthier was in the Value Village store when he defecated and threw his feces at a female employee, striking her on the arm.
He then left.
The store temporarily closed while the feces area was cleaned.
Ross interjected, informing the court that Gauthier did not throw feces at the employee, but wiped it on her. Ross also said the entire store was not closed, but the area involved was cordoned off while cleaning occurred.
At the time, Gauthier was serving a six-month conditional sentence he received just three days earlier for unlawfully being in a dwelling house.
In her sentencing address, Ross said Gauthier, who hails from Timmins, had two strokes in 2018 that make it difficult to understand him. He also has a learning disability and spent time in group homes.
Gauthier, who has been married and the father of two grown children, has worked in different jobs. Ross said her client is now living in a tent due to being homeless.
“He has been living on the streets for a number of years,” she said. “He usually lives in a tent on the outskirts of town. He has had housing before, but gets targeted and people break in, taking his things.
“The weather has been very difficult on him as he continues to live outside. You will often see Mr. Gauthier outside businesses downtown as he busks. He plays music for the public.”
Ross said that due to his Metis background, “Mr. Gauthier has experienced a significant amount of racism in his life and because of his small stature, he gets picked on. His learning disability and speech impediment make him difficult to understand.”
The court heard Gauthier has a prior record, but he stayed out of trouble from 1993 to 2013, and from 2019 to 2024.
Ross said Gauthier is accepting responsibility for his actions.
“He felt he was being followed around (in the store) and he felt he was being made fun of or mocked,” she said. “He does know his behaviour was inappropriate.”
Assistant Crown attorney Sandra Town said what Gauthier did was dangerous.
“The risk put to the victim, the wiping of feces on her,” said Town. “Should she have had any wound or cut, there was a risk to her.”
As a result of the guilty plea, the Crown dropped other charges Gauthier was facing.
hcarmichael@postmedia.com
X: @HaroldCarmichae
