Man Walks Free After Being Charged in Our Lady of Mercy Assault

A year later after the assault of a man who was praying in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Sarnia, the man who was accused of a strangulation, walks free, reports The Observer.

The accused, a man named Nicholas Ritonja was scheduled to go to court and have his trial Thursday, however, that did not happen. Rather, after serving one month in prison, he got to walk out of the courthouse a free man. 

The incident that the man was accused of was causing bodily harm to a 23-year old man who was praying inside the chapel of Our Lady of Mercy. A ligature was used. Ritonja was charged with assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, mischief under $5,000 and uttering threats. 

Just as the trial was going to be starting, the complainant, the 23-year old man who was assaulted did not want to testify in court. Rather he was adamant that he would not. Crown Attorney Amir Hage told the judge that he did not want to Ritonja and wanted to move on.

Without the complainant's testimony, Ritonja's case and charges were all withdrawn. Ritonja pleaded guilty to other charges he had racked up during three other cases he was involved in. Two counts of assault, single mischief counts, and breaching his bail, and he served 135 days in jail.