Alleged violence prevents girl’s release

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This article was published 24/03/2023 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A teenager accused of brutally beating another girl in a laundry room in February will remain in custody following a string of other violent incidents in which she was allegedly involved that started with a police-sponsored event last fall.

In court on Thursday, Judge Donovan Dvorak delayed his decision on the 13-year-old girl’s release until authorities learn more information about her living situation. While the girl, who can’t be named due to the Canada Youth Justice Act, faces recent charges of assault and mischief to property, her criminal charges date back to last Halloween.

None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the girl remains innocent until proven guilty.

On Feb. 20, a 15-year-old girl was on her way to the laundry room inside a Brandon apartment complex when she was jumped by two other girls. The incident was caught on security footage.

After a brief conversation, the two aggressors are seen pushing, slapping, pinching and punching the victim before she falls to the floor and the attackers begin to kick her. The victim managed to rise to her feet, but the assailants punched her numerous times in the face. One girl in the video is seen kicking the victim in the head more than five times. The assault lasted about 90 seconds until the attackers left the victim on the floor, crying.

But the victim’s ordeal wasn’t over yet — the attackers returned and forced her to kiss their shoes multiple times. Then one girl punched the victim in the head, pulled her hair and slammed the victim’s head into a dryer. The attackers finally left for good, abandoning the victim on the floor once again.

The laundry room assault is just the latest incident the 13-year-old girl is accused of being involved with.

A fight broke out last fall at the Brandon Police Service’s Halloween Monster Mash youth event. The situation quickly escalated after the 13-year-old girl struck an officer on the arm while police tried to detain another girl. Police Chief Wayne Balcaen himself stepped in to assist with restraining the accused.

The Crown intended to have the girl participate in the court’s diversion program, which would allow her to avoid a criminal record. But instead, police continued to find her in violent incidents around the city.

In December, students and parents gathered around the front of a Brandon elementary school and alerted police of an imminent fight between two girls. One girl who was caught on video camera was seen tying her hair back as if to prepare for a fight, while swearing and calling the other girl a derogatory name. Many parents called the school upset by the event, Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup told the court.

Then last month, Shoppers Mall security reported a fight outside of a store that was caught on camera. The incident began with a confrontation between two females but quickly escalated into a punching and kicking brawl. A girl was seen on the video grabbing and punching the victim, taking her to the ground and then attacking her head. The girl then ran off with other youths who were not involved in the incident.

While Lonstrup said keeping youth in custody is a last resort, the Crown found the 13-year old’s involvement in violence concerning enough to oppose her release.

“Even on the high bar for denial of bail,” Lonstrup said. “You have violent offences, and you have a clear indication that whatever plans she has in place is not keeping her sufficiently supervised that bail conditions are going to have any impact on her behaviour.”

The girl’s defence lawyer, Andrew Synyshyn, said there are moral culpability issues which the Canada Youth Justice Act acknowledges, given that the girl is far from the more mature ages of 17 and 18 that are still under the act.

“The concern is that we have a situation with a very young girl, with no prior criminal history,” Synyshyn said. “It seems that since October there’s been a concerning amount of involvement by somebody who’s likely not having the stability that’s required.”

He suggested she be released from custody into the care of a responsible adult who would be court ordered to supervise the girl. However, the only person he could cite was the girl’s mother, who was not in court Thursday.

Appearing from Brandon Police Service custody by telephone, the girl pleaded with the court to be released, asking if someone could just “watch her every hour,” and to be “bailed out.”

Dvorak was concerned for the girl’s well-being as well as public safety and declined to make a decision about the girl’s release until the court learned more about her home situation.

“I’m very concerned about returning her to where she has been,” he said.

Dvorak made a court order requiring the girl be referred to child protection services for assessment.

She will remain in custody for the meantime and is scheduled to appear again in court again on March 28.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @geena_mortfield