12-16-2004, 12:58 AM
Sad to say, I used to know this guy, Bronson Penasse..I used to go to school with him, maybe 2 months before the murder...
This was taken from thestar.com today..
Barbarism in an Orangeville field
Mom hears how son pleaded for his life
On April 18, 2002, in a field outside Orangeville, 16-year-old Robbie McLennan was sexually assaulted, punched, kicked, burned with cigarettes and struck with stones until he died.
A hushed Brampton courtroom heard these awful details yesterday as the prosecutor read out an agreed statement of facts — part of a guilty plea by one of three charged in the Orangeville teen's 2002 death.
The youth, who cannot be identified, was 16 at the time, the same age as Robbie.
Robbie pleaded for his life, the court heard, throughout the three hours of torture in a Caledon field that started on the evening of April 18 and ended about 1 a.m. the next morning. The reason for the attack, according to the statement: He laughed at a 20-year-old acquaintance who had had too much to drink.
Robbie's mother, Kathy Bradley, sat through yesterday's gut-wrenching hearing, she said, for her son's sake.
She and her family know there are many more days of similar testimony ahead. Two others charged with Robbie's death are still before the courts.
"I did it for Robbie," said Bradley, fighting back tears as she stood in the hallway outside courtroom 211. "There are some sick people in this world."
Moments earlier, Bradley and other family members listened as a 19-year-old Orangeville teen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Superior Court of Justice for his role in the grisly killing.
Robbie's battered body was found on the afternoon of April 19, 2002 in a field in Caledon. Three people were arrested the same day and have remained in custody since then.
The teen who pleaded guilty yesterday was 16 at the time of the crime, so his identity remains protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He will be sentenced Feb. 11 as a youth by Mr. Justice Bruce Durno, who convicted him yesterday after he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder but guilty to second-degree murder.
"No matter what justice is given, it will never be enough," said Larry Rule, McLennan's stepfather. "It's been very tough. Robbie's 5 1/2-year-old brother can't understand why he's not coming home."
Two other accused, Bronson Penasse, 22, of Scarborough, and a girl, who was 16 at the time and is now 18, are still before the courts, charged with first-degree murder.
McLennan had laughed at Penasse after he vomited from too much alcohol.
The boy was sexually assaulted, punched, kicked and stoned with rocks, some as heavy as 12.7 kilograms, during the attack that lasted three hours, according to the agreed statement of facts read into the record yesterday by crown prosecutor Richard Schwarzl.
A pathologist determined McLennan died from blunt force head trauma but that the young man, who was known to friends as a "gentle giant" could have died from the kicks to his head or the stoning alone.
More than 40 distinct areas of injury were found on the body, and death ensued over a matter of hours, the court heard.
The convicted teen admitted in the agreed statement of facts that he held McLennan while the other two beat him and admitted he stood on McLennan's arms, preventing him from protecting himself, court heard. He also admitted to sexually assaulting him with a stick, and participating in the beating.
McLennan knew the convicted teen from school but had met the other two accused only about a week earlier.
McLennan was a student at Orangeville District Secondary School when he met Penasse and the girl on April 10, according to the statement. McLennan had been in an argument with his mother and decided to spend the night at the Out of The Cold youth shelter.
He returned home the next day but by then had struck up a friendship with Penasse and the girl, the court heard. The three of them worked as volunteers at the Orangeville campaign office of Josh Matlow, the Liberal candidate in the provincial election.
The court heard that McLennan was with the two on the afternoon of April 18 when they broke a gumball machine and stole money. The three then went to Smilin' Jacks bar, where Penasse consumed three beers and three shooters.
The convicted teen met McLennan and the two other accused at another bar later in the afternoon where Penasse again consumed alcohol, the court heard.
Penasse then purchased more alcohol from an LCBO store and the four of them went into a forested area in Caledon, just metres south of the Orangeville town limits.
The court heard that in the late evening of April 18, Penasse began to feel sick and asked the convicted teen to stick his fingers down his throat so he could vomit. When he did, McLennan laughed.
"Robbie laughing at Penasse angered him so much that Penasse began punching and kicking him," Schwarzl said. Penasse sexually abused Robbie repeatedly and forced him to perform sex acts on others.
"Robbie attempted to run away from the attacks," Schwarzl read. "(D)uring the attacks, Robbie pleaded for his life. He offered to say that he was hit by a car, and offered up his jacket but the attacks continued."
The court heard the female accused kicked McLennan so hard in the groin that she ruptured a testicle. She also stomped on his face with such force that it left a clear shoe impression on his forehead.
The court also heard that there were five distinct cigarette burns on McLennan's body, two on the right side of his neck, one on his right jaw line, one on his upper left back of his shoulder and one on the back of his left mid calf.
Two rocks with McLennan's blood on them, weighing nine and 12.7 kilograms, were found next to his body when Orangeville Police discovered him on April 19 after they received a tip.
McLennan's blood was also found on the convicted teen's shorts as well on his right shoe. Amylase, found in saliva, from McLennan was also discovered on the convicted teen's underwear, including one area which was mixed with the convicted teen's semen, the court heard.
Today at the entrance to Dragonfly Park in Orangeville stands a memorial for McLennan, where flowers encircle a pole marked with the murdered teen's name.
This was taken from thestar.com today..
Barbarism in an Orangeville field
Mom hears how son pleaded for his life
On April 18, 2002, in a field outside Orangeville, 16-year-old Robbie McLennan was sexually assaulted, punched, kicked, burned with cigarettes and struck with stones until he died.
A hushed Brampton courtroom heard these awful details yesterday as the prosecutor read out an agreed statement of facts — part of a guilty plea by one of three charged in the Orangeville teen's 2002 death.
The youth, who cannot be identified, was 16 at the time, the same age as Robbie.
Robbie pleaded for his life, the court heard, throughout the three hours of torture in a Caledon field that started on the evening of April 18 and ended about 1 a.m. the next morning. The reason for the attack, according to the statement: He laughed at a 20-year-old acquaintance who had had too much to drink.
Robbie's mother, Kathy Bradley, sat through yesterday's gut-wrenching hearing, she said, for her son's sake.
She and her family know there are many more days of similar testimony ahead. Two others charged with Robbie's death are still before the courts.
"I did it for Robbie," said Bradley, fighting back tears as she stood in the hallway outside courtroom 211. "There are some sick people in this world."
Moments earlier, Bradley and other family members listened as a 19-year-old Orangeville teen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Superior Court of Justice for his role in the grisly killing.
Robbie's battered body was found on the afternoon of April 19, 2002 in a field in Caledon. Three people were arrested the same day and have remained in custody since then.
The teen who pleaded guilty yesterday was 16 at the time of the crime, so his identity remains protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He will be sentenced Feb. 11 as a youth by Mr. Justice Bruce Durno, who convicted him yesterday after he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder but guilty to second-degree murder.
"No matter what justice is given, it will never be enough," said Larry Rule, McLennan's stepfather. "It's been very tough. Robbie's 5 1/2-year-old brother can't understand why he's not coming home."
Two other accused, Bronson Penasse, 22, of Scarborough, and a girl, who was 16 at the time and is now 18, are still before the courts, charged with first-degree murder.
McLennan had laughed at Penasse after he vomited from too much alcohol.
The boy was sexually assaulted, punched, kicked and stoned with rocks, some as heavy as 12.7 kilograms, during the attack that lasted three hours, according to the agreed statement of facts read into the record yesterday by crown prosecutor Richard Schwarzl.
A pathologist determined McLennan died from blunt force head trauma but that the young man, who was known to friends as a "gentle giant" could have died from the kicks to his head or the stoning alone.
More than 40 distinct areas of injury were found on the body, and death ensued over a matter of hours, the court heard.
The convicted teen admitted in the agreed statement of facts that he held McLennan while the other two beat him and admitted he stood on McLennan's arms, preventing him from protecting himself, court heard. He also admitted to sexually assaulting him with a stick, and participating in the beating.
McLennan knew the convicted teen from school but had met the other two accused only about a week earlier.
McLennan was a student at Orangeville District Secondary School when he met Penasse and the girl on April 10, according to the statement. McLennan had been in an argument with his mother and decided to spend the night at the Out of The Cold youth shelter.
He returned home the next day but by then had struck up a friendship with Penasse and the girl, the court heard. The three of them worked as volunteers at the Orangeville campaign office of Josh Matlow, the Liberal candidate in the provincial election.
The court heard that McLennan was with the two on the afternoon of April 18 when they broke a gumball machine and stole money. The three then went to Smilin' Jacks bar, where Penasse consumed three beers and three shooters.
The convicted teen met McLennan and the two other accused at another bar later in the afternoon where Penasse again consumed alcohol, the court heard.
Penasse then purchased more alcohol from an LCBO store and the four of them went into a forested area in Caledon, just metres south of the Orangeville town limits.
The court heard that in the late evening of April 18, Penasse began to feel sick and asked the convicted teen to stick his fingers down his throat so he could vomit. When he did, McLennan laughed.
"Robbie laughing at Penasse angered him so much that Penasse began punching and kicking him," Schwarzl said. Penasse sexually abused Robbie repeatedly and forced him to perform sex acts on others.
"Robbie attempted to run away from the attacks," Schwarzl read. "(D)uring the attacks, Robbie pleaded for his life. He offered to say that he was hit by a car, and offered up his jacket but the attacks continued."
The court heard the female accused kicked McLennan so hard in the groin that she ruptured a testicle. She also stomped on his face with such force that it left a clear shoe impression on his forehead.
The court also heard that there were five distinct cigarette burns on McLennan's body, two on the right side of his neck, one on his right jaw line, one on his upper left back of his shoulder and one on the back of his left mid calf.
Two rocks with McLennan's blood on them, weighing nine and 12.7 kilograms, were found next to his body when Orangeville Police discovered him on April 19 after they received a tip.
McLennan's blood was also found on the convicted teen's shorts as well on his right shoe. Amylase, found in saliva, from McLennan was also discovered on the convicted teen's underwear, including one area which was mixed with the convicted teen's semen, the court heard.
Today at the entrance to Dragonfly Park in Orangeville stands a memorial for McLennan, where flowers encircle a pole marked with the murdered teen's name.
hock: