TEEN'S REMAINS FOUND IN DUMP

Clothing Found Discarded Near Scene

The mother of a 15-year-old Meadowvale boy, found in a dump north of the
city, fears her son met his death at the hands of a drug dealer or sexual
predator.

The three-month search for 15-year-old Rene Charlebois became a murder
investigation Wednesday after a body found on March 19 was officially
identified as the missing teen.

Charlebois was last seen Dec. 12 leaving Meadowvale Secondary School. But,
Peel Regional Police homicide detectives found the Grade 9 student's body
in a public landfill in Mono Township, just north of Caledon.

Dental records were needed to identify the body, which is why police waited
two weeks to release details of their discovery.

Peel Const. Wendy Sims said clothing that was discarded near the area of
the landfill site, in the area of 3rd Line and Hwy. 10, led police to the
grisly discovery.

Sims didn't confirm, nor deny Charlebois was sexually assaulted prior to
his death. Sims wouldn't say why investigators believe he was murdered.

But the boy's mother, Jaitoon Baksh, said she believes her son became
involved with "dangerous people.

"The schools are becoming more and more dangerous. Drugs are all over the
place," she said yesterday. "Drug pushers are having little kids do their
dirty work for them, and then something horrible happens."

Baksh said the night her son went missing, one of his friends told her
Charlebois said he was going shopping in the Jane-Finch area of Toronto.

"I've never known him to go there before," she said.

Sims said it's a standard practice in homicide investigations to look into
a victim's potential criminal involvement, but she wouldn't provide details
relating to this probe.

Investigators said Charlebois was known to frequent internet chat rooms.

Police said they have seized the boy's computer in the hopes of finding
some clues.

"Certainly with chat lines there is an element of risk there and certainly
that is an avenue we're exploring," said Sims.

Baksh also expressed concern over her son's internet use.

"You hear all these stories of sex offenders luring young children over the
internet," she said. "We're not doing a good job of protecting our children."

Charlebois' family was critical of the way this missing person's case was
handled.

"Many kids go missing like Cecilia (Zhang) and Holly Jones, and I found
(police) were on top of those," said the boy's aunt, Volene Persaud. "In
this case, it didn't seem like they were doing enough."

Charlebois' mother claimed police didn't treat the case seriously at first.

But Sims defended investigators and said finding the boy was always a top
priority.

"There were several news releases that were issued back in December and
January with the information of when he was last seen, (as well as) his
photograph.

There was an appeal made to the public for their assistance," she said.