Two teenagers accused of plotting to kill and rape their fellow students will have to undergo psychiatric assessments.
The 14 and 16 year-old boys were in court Tuesday morning after being arrested and charged last week on 18 counts including conspiracy to commit murder and administering a date rape drug.
Their defence lawyers did not ask for bail. Instead they requested the children be sent to the Pinel Institute for psychiatric evaluations.
The Crown said that it would have opposed bail for the youths, and was happy to see the defence lawyers ask for the psychiatric assessments.
They will be back in court on Oct. 18 for another hearing.
Police were notified of the alleged plot by a parent of one of the teenagers. The boy's mother allegedly found threatening messages and details of the plot on her son's Facebook account.
The students attended Ecole Polyvalente Hyacinthe-Delorme in St. Hyacinthe, and on Monday the school informed staff members and students about everything it was legally allowed to share.
Because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act neither the accused, nor the alleged victims, can be named.
Meanwhile police are cautioning youth that threats, whether made online or in person, are always taken seriously.
Shaheen Shariff, who researches cyberbullying with the McGill Integrated Studies in Education department, said teens need to be taught that their words matter.
