Closing arguments laid out in Whitby, Ont. violent assault trial

Both the Crown and defence presented their closing arguments in the trial regarding a violent assault in Whitby. In July 2020 a woman was attacked and left for dead.

It was a full house in an Oshawa courtroom as attorneys made their closing submissions in a violent Whitby assault trial. Anthony Doiron-Francis is facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault after he was accused of attacking a Whitby woman while she was out for a walk in the summer of 2020.

Dozens of people came to show their support for the victim on one of the final days of the trial. With people holding signs like ‘Be positive’ and ‘We stand with you,’ the victim held back tears as she realized how many strangers came to support her during the case.

In the closing arguments, defence counsel Marco Sciarra maintained the accused did assault the 50-year-old woman, but says it was because he was caught caught taking video of the victim from behind. Sciarra says his client then got into a fight with the victim, and that’s where he lost his phone in the tussle. But the defence rejects the claim by the Crown attorney that Doiron-Francis sexually assaulted her and tried to kill her.

“There’s no independent evidence that a rape ever occurred,” Sciarra said.

Earlier in the trial the accused said the victim’s pants were taken off during a struggle, exposing her privates.

The defence team says this shouldn’t be considered sexual assault.

“If somebody’s privates are exposed during an assault, I would submit it doesn’t account to a sexual assault,” Sciarra said.

Doiron-Francis says things got out of hand on that day in July 2020. On July 28, surveillance video showed him following the victim for over two hours. On the stand, the suspect said he was attempting to film her with his phone to feed his “perverse porn addiction.” When he was caught, Doiron-Francis admitted he hit her several times, attempting to keep her quiet.