Sexual assault charges in North Bay withdrawn against Sudbury murderer

The Crown in North Bay has withdrawn sexual assault and other charges against Robert Steven Wright, who was convicted in 2023 of murdering a Laurentian University student in Sudbury in the late 1990s.

The Crown in North Bay has withdrawn sexual assault and other charges against Robert Steven Wright, who was convicted of murdering a Laurentian University student in Sudbury in the late 1990s.

Wright had been charged in December 2023 with two counts of sexual assault, harassment and forcible confinement in connection with incidents that took place in North Bay in 2015 and 2016. He pleaded not guilty to all four offences in December 2024.

But the North Bay courthouse confirmed to CTV News on Wednesday that those charges were withdrawn Sept. 8.

He was convicted in March 2023 in the stabbing death of Renee Sweeney, who was killed Jan. 27, 1998, at the Paris Street video store where she worked.

Was a high school student

Wright was an 18-year-old high school student at the time. He fled the scene when someone entered the video store and found him hunched over Sweeney.

He escaped justice for decades until his arrest in December 2018. A relative had given DNA to a registry, allowing police to eventually hone in on Wright as the primary suspect. He was arrested in North Bay where he worked as a lab technician.

At his trial, Wright claimed that he just came upon the Sweeney crime scene and fled because he panicked. However, his fingerprints were found underneath and on top of the cash tray.

The jury rejected his defence and found him guilty.

Wright was charged with the offences in North Bay after his murder conviction and seemed headed for a trial sometime this fall.

No reason was given for why the charges were suddenly dropped.