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A youth who skinned gophers alive and cut off their feet had his sentence stayed because the time it took for the case to conclude violated his rights.

The youth was found guilty in August of causing pain or suffering to an animal.

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But because 27 months had passed from the time the charge was first before the courts, judge Michael Gray in October ordered a stay of proceedings at a Prince George hearing. Gray’s judgment was released last week at the request of The Citizen.

“(In) my view that is not acceptable,” Gray said in his judgment, finding the time amounted to an unreasonable delay. As a result of the stay, no criminal conviction will appear on the youth’s record.

The offence happened in 2013 but by January 2015, the defence still did not have disclosure from the Crown and the trial was ultimately delayed until June 2016.

The boy is from a community outside of Prince George and cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting his identity under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The case against the youth, whose age is not mentioned in the judgment, hinged on his confession of gopher torture to a woman mentoring him and a 15-year-old boy who witnessed the attack. Their words were pitted against the accused’s testimony, which Gray ruled unreliable.