The long awaited conclusion of the Richard Lowes case landed in a St. Catharines courtroom on Monday morning with a plea deal that will see the butcher and former owner of the Country Corner Market avoid jail time. It was the 53rd court proceeding in the matter.
Pleading down to a lesser offence is a common outcome in Ontario courtrooms, as it avoids a lengthy trial and spares victims from having to testify in open court. More than three years after first being charged, that’s exactly how the case to came to an end for Lowes. His attorney and the Crown prosecution agreed to let him plead guilty on two charges of assault, rather than the three cases sexual assault, which he was first charged with back in March of 2021.
According to the agreed upon statement of facts entered into the record, Lowes, then 65, drunkenly groped two different female victims, a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old, on multiple separate occasions. His actions, described as “unwanted sexual advances” included rubbing the victim’s inner thighs and arms, kissing them on the cheeks and forehead, hugging them, sending sexual innuendo via text messages, and touching one of the victim’s breasts.
After one of the victims went to the police to complain, Lowes somehow learned that she had gone to the authorities, at which point he confronted the victim, pushed her, then verbally berated her for going to the police.
How Lowes learned the victim had gone to police, a process which is supposed to be confidential, was not revealed. During sentencing, Lowes’ lawyer talked at length about the charity initiatives and good deeds done by Lowes over the years, including the fact that he regularly donated meat from his deli to the Niagara Regional Police Service for their charity barbecue events. Police cruisers were commonly seen parked outside the Country Corner Market, even after Lowes was charged.
Unusually, there was no police media release upon Lowes' arrest, and it was not until 24 weeks later that the Voice of Pelham received a tip from a source concerned that the NRPS was trying to "bury" the case.
Lowes was facing considerable jail time if convicted of the original charges. By pleading down to lesser offences, he was handed a 12-month conditional sentence that includes eight months of house arrest and mandatory GPS tracking. He is also not allowed to be alone with anyone under the age of 16 (with the exception of his own grandchildren) and is not to go to any public parks, swimming pools, splashpads, or schools where young children are present.
When asked by the judge if he would like to speak to the charges, Lowes declined. His lawyer spoke on his behalf, and noted that publication of the charges in “local media” has taken a toll on both Lowes and the Country Corner Market, which is now being run by his son.
“The publicity, that has been rampant, has devastated the business,” said his lawyer, Mark Evans, who added that Lowes has frequently been confronted by members of the community when he is out in public, sometimes in “uncomfortable ways.”
In pleading for leniency during the sentencing, Evans blamed Lowes’ actions on his drinking problem, which he said developed in response to the death of Lowes’ wife back in 2012.
Before he appeared before the judge, Lowes was overheard in the courtroom in a loud, profanity-laden diatribe with his lawyer, criticizing "the girls"—his victims— for not attending the hearing, which they were not required to do, referring to them as "lazy."
Justice Wolfe accepted that while the death of Lowes’ wife and his subsequent alcohol struggles may be somewhat of a mitigating factor, that his “personal circumstances do not alter the seriousness of the offences.”
Justice Wolfe accepted the recommended sentence agreed upon by the defence and the Crown prosecution, which included the eight months of house arrest and conditions on when and where he can go. Lowes was also required to provide a DNA sample and will remain on probation for three years after the end of his one year conditional sentence.
Updated with remarks Lowes made in the courtroom about his victims, before his hearing started.
