Sentencing hearing delayed for teen who spray-painted racist slurs

The teenager who pleaded guilty following a racist spray-painting spree against religious buildings last fall will remain in custody as his sentencing hearing is suspended until August.

The judge, Peter Griffiths, expressed impatience with the delays in the case which has now heard six days of testimony spread out over two months.

"If I sound impatient, it's because I am," said Griffiths, following a heated exchange with the Crown, Moiz Karimjee, regarding the Crown's request for more time.

Griffiths noted the request for more time comes as the case now extends into the summer and possibly beyond while the teen waits in secure custody.

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The teen who can't be named because he was a youth at the time he was arrested has pleaded guilty to five charges including inciting hatred, mischief against religious buildings, threatening conduct, possession of weapons and breach of conditions following a previous conviction.

All the charges stem from a series of incidents between November 13 and 19, 2016, when the teen spray-painted racial slurs on two synagogues, a Jewish prayer house, a mosque and a church whose minister is black.

Crown wants teen sentenced as an adult

Karimjee argues the teen, now 18, should be sentenced as an adult to maximize his access to treatment to deal with his racist ideology and to increase the ability to monitor his movements.

Before court broke on Wednesday Angela Haydon, a parole officer with Correctional Service of Canada, testified about the monitoring system available through the adult system including electronic tracking and halfway houses that monitor curfews, access to the internet and conditions set by the court.

If the judge decides to sentence the teen as an adult, the Crown will ask for the teen to be designated a Long Term Offender and monitored under a Long Term Supervision Order (LTSO).

The LTSO could include an electronic tracking system called geofencing which would set off an alarm if the offender goes near designated areas such as a mosque.

The order canlast for up to a decade following release.

The hearing will resume the first week of August 2017.