Court File and Parties
Court File No.: CR-22-0028-SR Date: 2025-09-23
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
B E T W E E N:
His Majesty the King
L. Taylor, for the Crown
- and -
Leon Giardino
M. Hargadon, for the Accused
HEARD: September 23, 2025, at Thunder Bay, Ontario
Mr. Justice W.D. Newton
Reasons re: Conditional Sentence Order
[1] Mr. Leon Giardino was bound by a Conditional Sentence Order ("CSO") as varied on May 12, 2025. Paragraph 12 of the Order provided that he "not contact or communicate in any way, either directly or indirectly, by any physical, electronic or other means with his former spouse, Santina Giardino, his son, Lucas Giardino, and others.
[2] It is alleged that Mr. Giardino breached that condition by sending a text message to Lucas Giardino on July 30, 2025. The message appears to have been sent from mileageauto@tbaytel.net. The message was: "Hi".
[3] Lucas Giardino testified and admitted that he did not know who sent the message but that, to his knowledge, his father had sole use of this email address. He also admitted that his mother is involved in family litigation over corporate assets.
[4] Leon Giardino also testified and said that he did not send the message, that he was aware of the negative consequences of breaching the CSO, and that he did not breach any of his bail conditions when released prior to his trial. He said that the email is used by his business to contact suppliers and customers and has never used that email to contact his son. When he attempted to cancel this email account he could not because the owner of the account was his former spouse, Santina Giardino.
Subsection 742.6(9) of the Criminal Code provides that the onus of proof is on a balance of probabilities. I am not satisfied that the identity of the sender of the message has been established on a balance of probabilities. While it is possible that Mr. Giardino sent the message that is not proof on a balance of probabilities.
[5] Accordingly, I find that Mr. Giardino has not breached the CSO and dismiss the application.
The Hon. Mr. Justice W.D. Newton
Released: September 23, 2025