Sentencing hearing in bizarre case involving arson
London Court House - January 16, 2023
The sentencing hearing was held Monday in the case of a man who set fire to the car of a known pimp in downtown London.
In the spring after his trial, William McDonald, 34, was found guilty of arson and aggravated assault.
The court heard how in 2018 he doused a car with gasoline along Dundas Street near Wellington Street.
McDonald was known to frequent sex workers and testified that the pimp he was dealing with was trying to extort him.
At the hearing, defence lawyer Ron Ellis argued that McDonald should be given a conditional sentence because at the time he had drug and alcohol issues and he has no previous criminal record.
However, assistant Crown attorney Adam Campbell, asked that he receive a jail sentence of 18 to 24 months saying, “denunciation and deterrence is paramount...in this case.”
When asked to address the court McDonald said, “I really don’t have much to say, I know what I did was wrong.”
Justice Kelly Gorman is expected to hand down her decision on the case on April 20.
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