One of two Quebec teens in alleged murder plot declared not criminally responsible

One of two Quebec teens charged in an alleged murder plot to kill fellow classmates will not stand trial. (Photo by Pierre Denis (French Wikipedia) [Public domain])

A youth court judge declared the older teen not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder during a hearing on Tuesday in St-Hyacinthe.

The Crown and defence presented a joint recommendation to that effect to the judge on Tuesday.

His co-accused in the case, aged 14, still faces several charges and will return to court in April.

The pair were charged with a variety of offences, including conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit sexual assault against classmates at Polyvalente Hyacinthe-Delorme high school, about 60 kilometres east of Montreal.

Provincial police had said at the time of the arrest that the evidence suggested the pair were on the verge of carrying out the plot.

The teen, who was 16 at the time of his arrest, will remain at a Montreal psychiatric hospital and will be evaluated by a provincial mental health review board.

Both boys had been detained since mid-September.

The mother of one of the accused came forward with vital information that foiled the alleged plot.