Man imprisoned couple, stole their son: Crown

TORONTO — The fate of a Toronto man accused of imprisoning a struggling couple in his home, participating in their abuse and forcing them to give up their baby so he could raise it as his own now rests with an Ontario judge.

Gary Willett is charged with assault, abduction, forcible confinement, failing to provide the necessaries of life and theft in a saga that spans more than two decades. He has pleaded not guilty.

His wife, Maria Willett, is facing similar charges but will be tried separately after a psychological assessment recently determined she was fit to stand trial. She has also pleaded not guilty.

At the heart of the case is the relationship between the Willetts and Tim Goldring and Barbara Bennett, a homeless couple they took in after finding Goldring searching for food in a dumpster in the 1980s.

Prosecutors allege the Willetts became physically and verbally abusive over time, keeping the pair captive, taking their disability cheques and their firstborn son, who grew up thinking the Willetts were his biological parents.

Court documents say Bennett left the home four years after giving birth, but Goldring remained until 2012, when his now-grown son — who had recently been kicked out — and two others took him from the family home.

“Tim was, for all intents and purposes, a personal servant to Gary and Maria Willett,” Crown attorney Jennifer Strasberg wrote in her closing submissions.

The defence, meanwhile, argues Goldring and Bennett stayed in the home willingly.