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Three charged for racist-revenge flyers with girls’ numbers

Durham Police yesterday said three males are facing charges after posting offensive flyers around the Ajax area.

A 15-year-old male, 17-year-old male and 18-year-old male of Ajax have been charged with Harass by Means of Repeated Telecommunications x5.

The name of the 18-year-old male is being withheld to protect the identify of the victim.

On Wednesday May 10 at about 2:50 pm, members from West Division responded to the area of Rossland Road West and Ravenscroft Road in Ajax after being notified of offensive flyers that were hung in the area.

A total of five flyers were recovered, each containing an offensive message and a contact phone number. Investigators were able to determine the phone numbers belonged to two young females who were unaware their numbers were listed, said a police statement.

The Criminal Investigations Bureau assisted by school resource officers assigned to the Community Response Unit began an extensive investigation which included reviewing surveillance video and speaking with witnesses.

Revenge act

Officers were able to conclude that three males were involved. A 17-year-old male had contact with both female victims prior, and it is believed as an act of revenge he created the flyers with their phone numbers in the hopes the content would cause them to receive a negative response from the community.

“We are asking that anyone who may have a copy of the flyer to not distribute it. Despite the intent to cause distress to the female victims, the flyers contain hateful messages that have and will continue to cause distress to our community,” said the statement.

Not a hate crime

Police officers have a duty to investigate every avenue of an offence. This offence was initially investigated as Public Incitement of Hatred, however after reviewing video surveillance, statements and speaking with those involved it was concluded that this was not the intended purpose, it said.

Police said this investigation is continuing and as part of that investigation the crown attorney’s office will be consulted regarding the aggravating factors of this case. At this point in the investigation, it is believed the flyers were intended to cause harm to the victims.

The Durham Regional Police said it recognizes that the victims are not the only people that these flyers have caused harm to. We recognize how this has impacted our community and we offer our support and diligence to ensure those responsible are held accountable.

The DDSB held an integral role in this investigation, and we would like to recognize the support we received from the them as we continue to work in collaboration with our schools, police said.

Anyone with new information about this incident is asked to contact D/Cst. Suthers of the West Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-579-1520 ext. 2542.

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