Canadian bridal shop owner who put child onto a coat hook cleared by court

• A Canadian bridal shop owner was found guilty of assault for hanging a 7-year-old boy on a coat hook but was granted an absolute discharge, meaning no criminal conviction was recorded.
• The judge described the act as ill-advised horseplay, not malicious, and noted the boy was hyperactive and distracting in the store.
• Despite the boy's distress and impact on his wellbeing, the judge ruled the owner posed no threat to the public and had been a respected community member.

A Canadian bridal shop owner will not face conviction for hanging a 7-year-old boy by a coat hook until his face turned purple, after a judge ruled that the shopkeeper posed no threat to the public.

The bridal shop owner, Rodney Philpott, 54, was found guilty of assaulting the child in Provincial Court in July. However, in September, a judge granted Philpott an absolute discharge – a sentence in Canada where a finding of guilt carries no criminal conviction – calling the act ill-advised “horseplay”.