Youth pleads guilty to assault with a weapon in alleged group beating of Métis teen

A teen pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, admitting to carrying a machete the night a Métis boy was beaten by a group of young men in Wasaga Beach.

Warning: This article contains details that may be disturbing and triggering to some readers.

A teen, whose identity remains protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, admitting to carrying a machete the night a Métis boy was beaten by a group of young men in Wasaga Beach last March.

The now 18-year-old admitted to a second count of assault with a weapon, for a violent incident three months later, involving bear spray and the smashing of a car window during an argument with other teens.

Nicholas Jolicoeur says he was targeted and attacked by a group of teens and men after a night out partying in Wasaga Beach March 18, 2025. He was left out in the freezing cold, unconscious with obvious signs of trauma to his face and knees. He said his Gucci belt was stolen.

“They beat me with a baton, two batons and a hatchet and they left me for dead,” said Jolicoeur who spoke with CTV News outside the Collingwood, Ont. courthouse in January.

It was in January when another man, 23-year-old Dominick Leggett of Wasaga Beach, pleaded guilty to disobeying a court order. He was handed a conditional discharge along with probation and a $100 fine. Leggett had initially been charged with assault with a weapon. All other charges against him were withdrawn.

For more than a year, Jolicoeur and his mother, Rebecca Drane, have sought justice for the brutal beating he received.

“Because they didn’t like me and thought it was funny,” said Jolicoeur of the beating that sent him to hospital.

“I believe that it is motivated by hate, jealousy,” said Drane. “They wanted to make fun of him.”

Nicholas told CTV News he remembers being called a “savage” that night during a party involving alcohol and marijuana. He could not recall who was present and assaulted him.

Two of the young men accused of assaulting Jolicoeur have now taken plea deals but Drane says the police investigation is ongoing as investigators appeal for the public’s help in identifying others who may have been involved in the attack.

While the teen, who was accompanied to court by a loved one in Barrie Wednesday morning, acknowledged Jolicoeur suffered injuries the night of the beating, the court heard the Crown could not prove the youth was one of five young men who attacked Jolicoeur.

“My son did nothing wrong, nothing. He was left on the beach, and they left him bleeding for hours in the freezing cold,” said Drane.

Jolicoeur said he is still mentally and physically recovering from the attack. “I hurts a lot,” he noted after hugging his mother.

Placed on probation for two years, the youth is also ordered to complete 40 hours of community service within 15 months and take counselling at the direction of his probation officer. He is also not allowed to possess a weapon.