A guy in Fort Erie was driving his ATV when he crashed it into a fence late last year. He was by himself, there’s no indication he was intoxicated, and the incident didn’t involve any other people or vehicles. He was taken to a hospital where his injuries were found to be not that bad. Just a dude who took an unlucky spill while having some fun on his ATV.
And yet, the Niagara Regional Police Service promptly issued a full press release on the very same day this happened. A full 194-word statement about a guy’s ATV bumping into a fence.
Thank goodness they informed the public about this important incident. The NRPS are great communicators, I’ve always said this.
So if, let’s say, a prominent member of the local community was charged with three counts of sexual assault, and one count of sexual interference with a person under 16 years of age, surely there would be a press release issued about these charges. Right?
Wrong. Everything about the curious case of Richard Lowes, a well known butcher in Fonthill, who was charged with numerous sex crimes dating back to 2021, seems fishy.
But before we go any further, let’s make the lawyers happy and state that, according to the NRPS, the police have done nothing wrong or strange or out-of-the-ordinary at all by not informing the public about the sex crime charges against Lowes.
The NRPS would like it known that it is “categorically false” that they did anything odd by not releasing any information about an alleged child molester who owns and operates an established butcher shop and corner deli in town. It is, according to the cops, “categorically false” that this guy’s alleged connections and friendships within the NRPS had anything to do with the lack of information released following his arrest.
In fact, just go ahead and assume that everything I’m going to say or imply in this column, is “categorically false” … according to the NRPS.
All right, with that out of the way, something here stinks. And not just the fact that the charges against Lowes were kept very, very quiet until a reporter from the Voice, the predecessor of PelhamToday, started sniffing around.
Even more suspect is Lowes’ reaction to being confronted about his charges. He told the reporter that, “There were supposed to be no comments until it goes to court for the allegations.”
That’s simply not true. Even though the police didn’t bother to put out a press release about his arrest, the charges against Lowes are still very much in the public domain, and there is a paper trail of public court documents and appearances to back it up. So why would Lowes be under the impression that no one is allowed to report on the sexual assault charges against him?
I guarantee no lawyer would have told him this. I know lawyers. My dad’s a lawyer. I grew up around lawyers. No lawyer would ever tell his client that publicly available criminal charges — especially charges of sexual interference with a minor — would somehow magically be kept private.
So then, who would tell him that? A cop perhaps? (The cops would probably like me to mention that this is “categorically false” here again, so let's do that just to be safe.)
The bizarre lack of information and transparency from the police around this alleged sexual assault case is only half the story here
The bizarre lack of information and transparency from the police around this alleged sexual assault case is only half the story here. The other half is the insane amount of time it’s taken this case to wind its way through our broken legal system. Despite 34 months having passed since his arrest, and at least 39 separate court appearances relating to the charges, Lowes has thus far evaded going to trial to face the music for his alleged crimes.
The lack of prosecutorial follow-through on the Lowes case follows a disturbing trend in Ontario, where numerous sex assault cases in the past few months have been tossed out, not over any lack of evidence, but from simple logistical delays.
Emily Ager watched in horror last summer as her accused rapist walked free because it took too long to bring him to trial. The same thing happened to a University of Toronto student a few months later.
The problem keeps getting worse every year. In 2020, only 20 criminal cases were dropped due to delays. In 2021 that number jumped to 50. Then in 2022 it skyrocketed up to 125.
Coming forward to the police with sexual assault allegations has got to be one of the most agonizing and stressful things a woman—or child— can go through. Then to watch it all be for naught because some prosecutors and judges can’t get their shit together and do their damned jobs—I can’t even begin to imagine how that must feel.
It's sad but true that high profile cases always seem to manage to snake through the court system faster than the lesser known stuff. Look how quickly the numerous separate cases against Joe Crawford, the Santa Claus children’s entertainer from Port Colborne who was caught with child pornography, proceeded through the system. That gross clown has been arrested, charged, and convicted on three separate occasions in less time than it’s taken to get Lowes to trial once.
What’s the difference I wonder? Did the press releases and high-profile nature of Crawford’s crimes help move it quickly through the system, while Lowes’ hush-hush charges have helped him avoid trial?
Surely not, the cops would say. Categorically false, they would tell you.
Whatever the reason, I only hope Lowes is eventually forced to answer for his alleged crimes. Maybe if he did something big and newsworthy it would have helped move his sexual assault case forward. Something really big, like, I don’t know, bump his ATV into a fence.
James Culic is categorically false. Find out how to yell at him at the bottom of the page, or send a meaty letter to the editor.
