All pandemic-related charges against Windsor pastor dropped
The Shops at Waterloo Town Square are seen on Tuesday, July 9, 2013.
All charges under the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) against Windsor pastor, Aaron Rock, have been dropped.
According to a news release from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the Crown stayed three of Rock’s charges on April 30 relating to a May 2021 protest in Waterloo, Ont.
“While it is unfortunate that Pastor Rock was ticketed in the first place, we are quite content that all his charges across three jurisdictions have now been either withdrawn or stayed,” Rock’s lawyer Chris Fleury said in the JCCF release.
Three other COVID-related charges were dropped earlier this year.
JCCF officials say Rock was charged after allegedly attending an outdoor protest on May 30, 2021 in Waterloo’s town square. A ‘stay at home order’ was in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After discussions with the Crown, it was agreed that charges would be stayed following a modest donation from Pastor Rock to a registered charity,” the news release states.
If Rock had been convicted of all his charges, the maximum fines would have been $300,000, JCCF said.
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