3 youths charged in summer assault of 80-year-old Pembroke woman

Three young people are facing charges for allegedly assaultingan 80-year-old woman this summer in Pembroke, Ont., about 150 kilometresnorthwest of Ottawa.

The incident took placewhen a group of teenagers banged on the woman's dooron thenight of Aug. 20.

One of the woman'sfamily members told CBCthat when she openedthe door, the youths shouted racial slurs at her, smashed eggs onher house andthrew a rock at her head, sending her to the hospital.

One 12-year-oldand two 13-year-olds now each face one count of assault with a weapon,the Upper Ottawa Valley detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said Monday.

At the time of the incident, OPP said it was investigating reports of a "racially-motivated" attack, and that the young people had yelled "racial comments" at the woman.

• OPP investigating 'racially motivated' assault on 80-year-old Pembroke woman

But whencharges were announced on Monday,OPP said further investigationdetermined race was not the motivation.

"The OPP Hate Crimes/Extremism Unit was consulted and it was determined that, while there may have been a racial aspect to the situation, it was determined not to be a motivating factor in the incident," Const. Shawn Peever said in a news release.

The youths,who can't be identified because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, are due in court in November.