Judge grants bail to teen facing multiple charges

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This article was published 23/11/2017 (2972 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A teenage girl facing multiple charges — including assault with a weapon and a plethora of undertaking breaches — was once again granted bail earlier this week.

The Crown opposed her release, raising concerns of her escalating behaviour and the chances she could reoffend.

Defence counsel argued that additional bail conditions — such as a weapon prohibition and an added curfew — would be enough to keep the girl on the straight and narrow.

The charges against the 16-year-old, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, have not been proven before the court and she is presumed innocent.

Crown attorney Deidre Badcock described the teen’s recent string of offences to Brandon provincial court, starting on Sept. 28 when she allegedly assaulted one of her group home workers several times.

The employee told police the girl had choked her, bit her and hit her numerous times harder and harder with an electric flyswatter, Badcock said.

“The victim described the escalation with (the accused) and indicated that she never gave consent to be swatted with an electric flyswatter,” Badcock added.

The victim also expressed concerns in having to work alone with the accused, telling police the girl would frequently antagonize her, taunting her and “getting in her face.”

The girl was held in custody and released on Sept. 29, to allegedly assault another resident at her group home only a day later.

Employees reported the teen allegedly got in an argument with another girl in the group home, which ended with the teen punching her in the face.

The accused was once again released, and went without incident until Nov. 17 — when an employee of the group home contacted police to advise she had breached the no-contact order of her conditions after seeing the victim she punched at Landmark Cinemas during a supervised group outing.

The teen allegedly saw the girl and started shouting, “Are you going to drop my charges?” repeatedly, to the point where the two girls needed to be separated, Badcock said.

“What we have here is someone who has two outstanding charges for violence on her record, both involving the group home that she resides … the escalation we have here is that she’s approached that young individual — yelling at her and becoming more aggressive, demanding she drop the charges,” Badcock said.

“It’s really something that strikes at the heart of our justice system. These types of obstruction of justice charges are becoming increasingly more frequent here in Brandon … putting her back in the community on the same conditions she’s on is essentially telling her there really isn’t any consequence to her actions.”

Defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki said the teen is currently struggling with a drug addiction, in particular an addiction to methamphetamine, but has diligent in attending counselling sessions in addition to anger management counselling.

“There are a number of forms of counselling that I suggest reduce her risk to the community at large,” Sieklicki added.

Ultimately, Judge Lindy Choy said she was satisfied the added bail conditions addressed her concerns and granted the teen’s request for bail.

She is due back in court at the beginning of December.

» edebooy@brandonsun.com

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