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Second man convicted of inciting hatred in cross-burning case

A 21-year-old Nova Scotia man was convicted Tuesday of inciting hatred and criminal harassment after a cross was set on fire earlier this year outside the home of an interracial couple.
Justin Rehberg Nathan Rehberg
Nathan Rehberg

KENTVILLE, N.S. — A 21-year-old Nova Scotia man was convicted Tuesday of inciting hatred and criminal harassment after a cross was set on fire earlier this year outside the home of an interracial couple.

Nathan Rehberg of Avondale pleaded not guilty to those charges during his two-day, judge-only trial in Kentville. Charges of uttering threats and mischief were dropped.

His lawyer argued that the case against his client was weak because of inconsistent testimony, a lack of physical evidence and poor case preparation by police and the Crown.

But provincial Supreme Court Justice John Murphy convicted him on those charges.

Immediately after Murphy delivered his ruling, Rehberg walked out of the courtroom, stopping briefly to talk to reporters about his pending sentencing.

“I’m nervous about what I’m going to get, but whatever it is, I deserve it,” he said.

“I did the crimes so I got to do the time. It wasn’t a racist act, but there was a lot of evidence to make it look like it was. I’m sorry if it was ... I’m going to be a man and face the consequences.”

Court heard that on Feb. 21, just after midnight, Shayne Howe and his wife Michelle Lyon awoke to see a 2.5-metre cross burning in front of their rural home in Poplar Grove.

Howe testified the wooden cross had a noose around it and his stepdaughter told the court that she heard shouts of racial epithets just before she saw the burning cross.

“It’s a relief,” Howe said outside the courtroom after the judge’s decision. “There’s no reason to have hate against anybody. We are who we are.”

Lyon said she was also pleased with the ruling, but she said that she and her family intend to move away from Poplar Grove, which is about 70 kilometres northwest of Halifax.

“We’ve made that decision and that’s final,” she said.

Howe said the decision to leave has nothing to do with his other neighbours.

“It has to do with what happened and how close they are to us. We just want to make sure the community knows it has nothing to do with them.”

Rehberg will be sentenced Jan. 10.

Last week, Rehberg’s brother Justin was convicted of inciting hatred in the same incident. He previously pleaded guilty to criminal harassment.

He will be sentenced Dec. 14 on both counts.