St. Catharines duo jailed for ‘vicious beating’

Victim of ‘cowardly’ assault had met with a woman in a Fallsview Boulevard hotel room

Two Niagara men, recently convicted of prostitution-related charges, have received jail sentences for attacking a man who met up with a woman at a local hotel.

“This was a vicious beating that you inflicted upon (the victim),” Judge Janet Booy told Louizidor Fenelon and Davontae Edwards in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines Friday.

“It was also very unfair and cowardly.”

The offenders, both 21 and residents of St. Catharines, each received a six-month custodial sentence on charges of robbery and forcible confinement.

“It looks like you were trying to make easy money without actually pursuing some sort of career or training or some sort of legitimate employment,” the judge told the young men.

“If you continue down that road, you will continue to find yourself in custody for longer and longer periods of time.

“You’re each going to have a taste of it now and I hope, I truly hope, that that deters you moving forward.”

In addition to custody, both defendants were placed on probation for 18 months. They were also banned from being at the hotel where the incident occurred.

At the time of the offence, court heard, the duo associated with negative peer groups that influenced their behaviour.

“Both of you, moving forward, will have to realize your actions, in a large part, will be determined by those people you surround yourself with,” the judge warned.

“It’s up to each of you to make a choice not to pursue a criminal lifestyle.”

In February 2022, court was told, a young man met with a woman in a room at a hotel on Fallsview Boulevard in Niagara Falls.

The woman demanded $250 and, when he refused, the two defendants entered from an adjoining room and attacked the victim.

The man was punched and slapped and ordered to strip down to his underwear.

The victim was told his family would be assaulted if he told his parents what had happened, or if he reported the matter to police.

The man was confined in the room for more than an hour.

Court was told the victim knew his attackers as they had previously played basketball together.

Criminal charges against the woman were withdrawn at a previous court appearance.

Court heard the men were arrested in Durham in relation to an investigation into human trafficking.

The men later pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges.

The woman demanded $250 and, when he refused, the two defendants entered from an adjoining room and attacked the victim