Court to rule in April on whether Sudbury police officer threatened a kid
Crown alleges Melisa Rancourt told a 12 year-old hockey player she would break his ankles
The trial of Melisa Rancourt wrapped on Friday with three more witnesses describing what they saw in the corridor of the dressing rooms after a heated hockey game in Espanola in February 2024.
Rancourt is a Sudbury police officer and was the head coach of the Espanola team when she allegedly threatened to break the ankles of a 12-year-old player from the Walden team.
The three witnesses called on Friday, Sonia Botelho, Greg Wells and Cheyenne Kitchikake, are parents of children in the Espanola team.
They were in the corridor when the incident took place. All three said they did not hear Rancourt utter a threat.
Their testimony focused on the behaviour of a key witness for the Crown prosecutors, Maverine Bain.
Bain is the mother of a Walden player who testified in court Thursday that she heard the threat about breaking ankles.
Botelho described seeing Bain acting aggressively, confronting Rancourt and "flailing arms around as if she was a child throwing a tantrum."
Her fiancé, Greg Wells, also says Bain was the one to cause a disturbance.
As for Kitchikake, he maintains he heard Rancourt give the player a warning about unsportsmanlike conduct. He says Bain was yelling and swearing.
Asked if he had spoken to Rancourt after the incident, Kitchikake said no, and that he "was surprised the OPP didn't come to ask us what happened."
In court yesterday the judge tossed out the disturbance charge against Rancourt because of a lack of evidence after the court reviewed security video footage from a CCTV camera in the corridor.
It's the second charge to be dropped in this case – the first was an assault charge that was withdrawn by the Crown in July, also because of a lack of evidence.
The charges were based on testimony given by Bain and the 12-year-old player to police on the day after the game.
Court heard recordings taken at the police station in which Bain and the young player describe Rancourt putting her hands on the upper body of the young player after uttering the threat.
Video footage shows only a brief exchange between Rancourt and the player, and no physical contact.
In his closing remarks, the Crown prosecutor acknowledged there were inconsistencies in the testimony of his witnesses, but argued the judge should still accept part of their evidence.
A verdict is expected on April 22.
Rancourt has been suspended from duty with pay since February 2024.