Surprised at the Toronto courthouse, where one of the accused minors relating to the death of a homelessness of the metropolis in 2022 received a sentence of 9 months of testing. Teenager No. 1, who was charged from mansing up, pleaded guilty last month to a lightened accusation of assaults a month before the start of her trial.
Kenneth Lee was stabbed to death by eight teenagers during a group attack on the night of December 17 to 18, 2022 near the Union in the city center.
The judge Philip Campbell made his decision against all odds on Tuesday afternoon after hearing the arguments of the two parties the morning.
Brief explanations of the magistrate
In his judgment, he affirms that the prison is no longer appropriate as punishment, but that the girl must still be supervised in the community.
The judge also notes that the participation of the delinquency was minimal compared to his co -accused.
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Ken Lee was the victim of a stabbing attack in December in Toronto, but the first trial could not determine if it had been committed by means of a knife, a pair of scissors or both.
Photo: provided by the Toronto Police Service
The guilty plea had shown that she had thrown a cup against the 59 -year -old victim and filmed the attack after getting caught up in Ken Lee’s friend stealing her bottle of alcohol and hitting her with a bag (the woman had not filed a complaint).
She was not present on site and there is nothing malicious to use her cell phone
declares the magistrate.
The judge grants him a double credit for the 44 days that the delinquent spent in preventive detention after her arrest without counting her long period of house arrest with his mother.
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The cap that Ken Lee wore before succumbing to his injuries to the hospital in the early morning of December 18, 2022.
Photo : Radio-Canada
The magistrate acknowledges that the accused’s constitutional rights have been breaking up when she was naked during her pre -trial detention.
He also recalls that teenager No. 1 had ate a ambulance to tell her where the victim was the night of the drama before returning to his group who had fled the crime scene.
He finally claims that the letter that the delinquent wrote for the end of the hearing and that of her mother show that she will obtain her secondary diploma next month and that she plans to continue studies.
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The judge nevertheless believes that the girl, who is now 18, still needs to be monitored.
I am worried about her social reintegration after she broke up her release conditions
he concludes by imposing a series of conditions to respect during his probation period.
Half-nod
The crown had claimed five months in prison and one year of testing before granting him any credit for the time spent in a maximum security prison during his preventive detention.
The Prosecutor Sarah of Filipppis had therefore required 12 months of probation and 50 days in prison to serve in the community under surveillance.
Me de Filippis said that the accused’s act deserves the prison, although her role was indeed minimal, because of the violence and the extreme gravity of the attack.
The law on young offenders authorizes me to ask for a prison sentence, even for an accusation of simple assault
she said.
The prosecutor had explained that conditional absolution was completely inappropriate, because it did not reflect The values of our society
and that The death of Ken Lee shocked the community
.
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The prosecutor of the Sarah crown of Filipppis
-Photo : Radio-Canada / Pam Davies
She had recalled that the minor had launched objects towards Ken Lee and that she had filmed the scene without intervening to dissuade her co -accused.
Ken Lee was vulnerable, the attack was not caused, the accused was intoxicated and knew that the assault was likely to put the life of the victim in danger.
Me de Filipppis added that the delinquent was 16 years old and that she was one of the older people in the group.
She had retained two attenuating factors: guilty plea, although late
of the accused and the letter she wrote to explain her gesture.
It is not just a judgment error on his part
she said.
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Judge Philip Campbell, from the Ontario Superior Court, carefully listens to the crown and defense arguments.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Pam Davies
She stressed that it was also necessary to take into account the teenager’s behavior in the metro before the deadly attack.
She had declared that minor no 1 took it to two Asian women on a train by pulling their hair.
On this subject, the magistrate explains that the delinquent showed a lack of judgment and that he has minimized the importance in his sentence.
The prosecutor had finally pointed out that the accused had violated the conditions related to his bonding in September 2024 and in February 2025 and that the fact that the accusations were abandoned on this subject should not take into account in the determination of the sentence.
Punishment must be proportional to its gesture
she had concluded.
Building Defense defeat
Lawyer Daisy Bygrave had presented a completely different position, suggesting an absolution, or even a reprimand if the judge did not accept the stay that he proposed to him.
My client should go out in person free from this court and want to turn the page
she explained, repeating that her participation was the weakest in the scale of responsibilities.
It is barely visible on surveillance videos and all young people have fun today filming with their cellular.
We don’t even know if she looks at the attack without reacting
she said.
Without ever trying to minimize the severity of the events, the lawyer said that her client had lacked judgment by drinking alcohol with the others.
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Four other minors have already been sentenced to sentences without prison before a youth court after having pleaded guilty, last summer, reduced accusations of manslaughter or armed assault causing injuries.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Pam Davies
Me Bygrave had mentioned that the only object she threw was a cup and recalled that she was the only one in the group to have approached the ambulance to ask for help from the caregivers.
She said that her client ignored the serious consequences of what was going to happen that night. My client is a brainless, but that does not make her a monster
she had added.
Twelve months of probation are not necessary, it is an additional sentence, it has already been punished after having so hard
she had concluded.
Radio-Canada numbered the eight accused in the order in which they appeared during their investigation for release in order to avoid any confusion.
Teenager No. 1 is the first of the four accused translated to a higher court to know her sentence. Teenager no 7 will be sentenced next week.
The minors nos, our 5 and 8 will have to wait, because the first has not yet had its hearing on the penalty and the other still awaits the verdict at its trial.
