This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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A man accused of killing, abducting and sexually assaulting a young Ontario girl will be brought to court today. Michael Thomas Christopher Stephen Rafferty is blamed for the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford (Tori) along with other charges.
The little girl disappeared on her way home from school almost three years ago. Last week, the 31-year-old Rafferty pleaded not guilty. He was arrested within a month after Victoria was reported missing.
“The allegations in this case are horrible,” Rafferty’s lawyer, Dirk Derstine, said last week. “It’s very important that everybody keep an open mind and everybody not have a rush to judgment.”
The 12-member jury panel was carefully picked up from a list of hundreds last week. It was important for the Crown and the defence to determine whether the potential jurors were affected by pretrial media hype.
Victoria’s father, Rodney Stafford, arrived at the London courthouse on Monday morning to attend the trial. However, he refused to talk to the media gathered outside the courthouse.
Victoria’s remains were found in July 2009 and an autopsy report discovered the girl had died from multiple blunt force traumas. This incident attracted a lot of national and international media attention. Journalists are allowed to use electronic devices in the court; however, they are advised not to broadcast any information from there.
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