Goody said.

Shortly after 4 a.m., the three accused allegedly punched and kicked him in the head, mid-section and back, Goody said.

"Mr. Croutch was kicked, as the Crown expects you will hear it described, like a football – so hard that his body was being lifted off the ground, until it finally came to rest several feet behind the bench.

"Paul Croutch never saw it coming," Goody said, nor did he offer any resistance, or move of his own volition during the beating.

Immediately before the attack, Goody said, the three accused men had come from the armoury where Deganis was allegedly heard by a senior officer to say that he hated bums and homeless people and wanted to take them on. One or more of the accused were under theinfluence of alcohol, Goody said.

Valen was passing through the park, walking from Shuter St. to visit friends at Fred Victor Centre, a shelter on Queen St. E., when she heard someone "calling out about a homeless bum," Goody said.

Valen said she saw the soldiers beating Croutch and yelled out to them, asking what they were doing.

Although it was not true, Valen told them she had a cellphone and would call police. The three approached her and she began to retreat toward Queen St. She was told to start running, only to have her legs kicked out from under her.

When she fell, she was allegedly beaten about the body and dragged through the park while being called a "bum" or "whore," Goody said.

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Croutch was