Comment 89276

By Go Go (anonymous) | Posted June 03, 2013 at 11:37:32 in reply to Comment 89264

A big part of the change that happened to Younge St. came after the brutal sexual assault and murder of 12 year old Emmanuel Jaques above a body rub parlour.

"Jaques's murder stunned and outraged the citizens of Toronto since a crime of this nature was considered unthinkable. It caused many to question how safe the city, and more specifically Yonge Street, really was. Some[who?] marked this as the point where Toronto lost its innocence and that its downtown was becoming too squalid.
Numerous protests and marches occurred, demanding that the city clean up the Yonge Street area. Alderman Ben Nobleman of York sent telegrams to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the media encouraging the return of capital punishment.

These protests became a catalyst for shutting down the numerous adult stores, body rub parlours, and shoeshine stands along Yonge Street. Over time, Yonge Street would become a more people-oriented district and new developments such as Dundas Square would revitalize the area."

Remember the murder like it was yesterday... used to hang out on Yonge as a young teenager. The all night movies were something that is for sure.

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