Convicted Cocaine Seller Gets Lighter Sentence Due to His 9 Children, Race

The Ontario Court of Justice has imposed a mitigated sentence on a Toronto cocaine addict and convicted trafficker due to his indigenous background and his nine children.

Lloyd Williams was found guilty of three counts of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, three counts of possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000, and failure to comply with a release order in connection to three separate incidents that occurred between March 2024 and May 2025.

Justice André Chamberlain imposed a lighter sentence than is normally issued for such offences, saying mitigating factors for Williams’s case include his alleged indigenous heritage and nine children.

“I recognize and acknowledge the significant mitigating factors that have strained Lloyd Williams’ life and, by their very nature, reduced his moral culpability,” Chamberlain wrote in the Jan. 23 court decision.

The court decision says that Williams considers himself indigenous on his father’s side but there was no supporting evidence. The justice said he accepted the indigenous claim.

Chamberlain also said that Williams has nine children, two stepchildren and seven biological children, including a 10-month-old, several between 22 months and 3 years old, 9-year-old twins, two 10-year-olds, and a 16-year-old. One of the 9-year-olds is on the autism spectrum.

“He states that he provides support as a father to his children and that any lengthy absence would have a significant impact on their health and well-being,” the court decision said.

Williams was sentenced to four and a half years in jail, with credit for 22 months served in pre-trial custody, meaning he will spend an additional two years and eight months in prison. Chamberlain also imposed a lifelong weapons ban.

Chamberlain said that the seriousness of the offences and the blatant disregard for release orders, evidenced by Williams’s ongoing drug trafficking, “cannot be mitigated to the point of making the sentence unfit.”

Arrests

Toronto police first arrested Williams on March 3, 2024, while conducting surveillance at a convenience store in the city’s Garden District. Police observed “several hand-to-hand transactions” between people in the area and officers suspected it involved drugs.

Williams was arrested just before 10 p.m., and police found 32.43 grams of crack cocaine in four packages, 43 hydromorphone pills, and $5,198 cash.

He was released on bail on March 15 with conditions that included house arrest, according to the court decision.

Police arrested Williams on Oct. 25, 2024, after he was seen out in the community despite being on house arrest. Officers found 114.63 grams of crack cocaine in two packages and $2,162 cash.

Williams was released on bail with the condition he wear a GPS tracking device and not attend the convenience store where he had initially been arrested. However, his GPS indicated he was near the store on Jan. 4, 2025, and Williams was arrested again. Police seized a digital scale, 24.11 grams of crack cocaine, 20.33 grams of powder cocaine, and $465 cash.

He was released again, this time under supervision and a GPS tracking device. On Feb. 15, 2025, Williams argued with the person supervising him and took off the GPS device and left the home, according to the court record. Police said attempts to contact or locate him were not successful and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Williams was arrested on May 14, 2025, and remained in custody since that time.

The Crown was seeking six and a half years of jail time, while the defence argued for two years.

Factors Cited by Judge

Justice Chamberlain said that Williams had challenges growing up, calling the neighbourhood where he was raised, near Dundas and Sherborne, “deeply troubled.”

The court decision also notes that Williams was in the foster care system for a while.

Other mitigating factors cited by the judge included that Williams is addicted to the drug he sells, and that he was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child, with reports that he was having seizures since he was 3 years old and continues to struggle with the condition.

The court also noted that Williams has a criminal history that includes serious domestic assault charges that include assault by choking.

“His troubled past relationship, which led to domestic assaults, suggests a diminished value in the support he provides to his children and family,” Chamberlain said, adding that he gave less consideration to Williams’s claim that the children and their mother “will suffer familial harm from his incarceration.”