Parents feared Canadian teen could carry out terror attack: prosecutor

By Nelson Wyatt
MONTREAL, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The youngest person on trial
for terrorism offenses in Canada was spiraling out of control
before his arrest, with his parents fearful he could carry out
an attack, a prosecutor told a Montreal youth court on Tuesday.
The 16-year-old boy's mother was not aware of any specific
plans, but expressed her fears to police after he was arrested
in October 2014 for robbing a Montreal convenience store when he
was 15, prosecutor Lyne Decarie said.
The teen, who cannot be identified because he is a minor,
admitted to the robbery but has pleaded not guilty to trying to
use the stolen money to join a terrorist group in Syria.
The boy's father, who immigrated from Algeria with his family in
2003, denounced his own son to police in October 2014 after
discovering a bag hidden behind their home containing a mask,
knife and cash.
RCMP have said Montreal police alerted the federal force
when they realized the youth had become radicalized.
The defense, which tried unsuccessfully to get the charges
dismissed last week, has said there is no proof the teen was
linked to a terrorist organization.
In her closing arguments at the youth's trial, Decarie
painted a picture of a family in crisis as they struggled to
deal with the teen.
The 16-year-old boy was sullen and spent most of his time
in his room, looking at Internet articles and photos of the war
in Syria which have been used by some groups to radicalize
teens, Decarie told the court.
He told his parents "he was going to participate in this fight
one way or another," Decarie said.
The teen also communicated a number of times through social
media with Martin Couture-Rouleau, a Muslim convert who was
fatally shot by police after killing one Canadian soldier and
injuring another on Oct. 20, 2104, near Montreal.
Couture-Rouleau was one of two men who carried out
jihadist-style attacks in Canada within days of each other.
The October attacks came after Canada sent fighter jets to the
Middle East to participate in air strikes against Islamic State
militants in Iraq.
Decarie said the youth also possessed Couture-Rouleau's
phone number and had asked the man at one point to loan him $50
to buy a knife.
She said his father changed his credit card numbers twice, after
the teen was caught trying to donate to a group in Lebanon
supporting opponents to the Assad regime and when he tried to
buy an airline ticket to Turkey.
Both transactions were stopped by the bank.
The parents also tried to block his access to the Internet.