Teen gets probation for taking part in mall attack

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This article was published 30/07/2025 (239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 15-year-old Sioux Valley Dakota Nation boy was sentenced to one year of probation for his small but “unacceptable” part in a disturbing group attack in Brandon’s Town Centre mall.

The youth, who the Sun cannot name under federal law, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday.

“Resorting to violence in any instance is not appropriate, but particularly kicking someone when they’re on the ground is extremely serious and deserves to be punished,” Judge John Combs said.

Easton Lacey, an articling student with the Crown Attorney’s Office, read the facts.

Brandon police received a call for assistance at The Town Centre mall on March 1. When officers arrived, they saw a woman lying on the floor.

The woman, who told police she worked at the mall, said she went to the public washroom and while sitting in the stall, overheard a group of people talking about a robbery.

As she was about to leave, one girl blocked the doorway. The others came up behind her and asked if she had any cigarettes and told her to “empty her pockets.”

The woman managed to get out of the washroom and the group followed her. She tried to distance herself, but the group backed her into a corner.

“They all began to attack her,” Lacey said.

Security cameras captured the attack, which Lacey played in court.

She said three girls punched the victim a total of 16 times before one of them grabbed her hair and pulled her to the ground.

One of them began to kick her while another tried to take the victim’s purse out of her hands, Lacey said.

“All three females then begin repeatedly kicking (the victim) in the body an approximate 12 times. A male then comes into frame and kicks (her) in the legs and runs to the exit,” Lacey said.

She said one of the girls stayed behind to kick the victim once more before security came into the frame and told them to leave.

Police arrested the four teens and took them into custody.

The next day, the boy gave a statement to police. He said one of the girls asked him to hang out. The group had $50 and found someone to buy them alcohol.

He said they went to the mall washrooms to drink, where they saw another individual.

He said he was finishing his last drink when the three girls left the women’s washroom.

“He came out of the bathroom and saw them all fighting someone,” Lacey said. “He went running and kicked the female and left,” Lacey said.

The teen said he felt bad for kicking her and he was “glad he didn’t do anything else.”

He was then released on an undertaking.

One of the girls involved in the attack was sentenced in June to two years of supervised probation after spending more than 70 days in custody. The other two co-accused have not yet had their cases heard.

For the 15-year-old boy, the Crown suggested a sentence of 12 months’ probation under an Intensive Support and Supervision Program (ISSP) with 40 hours of community service work.

ISSP is a community-based program with a high level of monitoring and support for youth who otherwise would likely end up in custody.

“The complainant suffered physical injuries … She also experienced psychological harm,” Lacey said. “(The accused’s) involvement may be less severe than others, but the lack of aggravating factors doesn’t make it mitigating.”

Defence lawyer Jennifer Janssens agreed that a one-year period of probation with 40 hours of community service work would be appropriate, but opposed the ISSP.

Janssens said the teen has no prior criminal record or involvement with the police, and the ISSP is for “very high-risk youth who have a pattern of violent behaviour and a pattern of non-compliance.”

Instead, she suggested he undergo an addictions assessment and complete any recommendations that come out of it, along with counselling and programming.

“As you can see in the video, (the accused) had a markedly lesser role than that of the three female co-accused,” she said.

Janssens added this was his first time hanging out with these girls and his fourth time drinking.

“(He) did give a full confession immediately when confronted by the police, immediately took responsibility for his part, and he expressed remorse for the complainant,” she said.

She said he made the “poor decision” to kick the victim, not knowing what the circumstances were.

Janssens briefly shared the teen’s background. She said he has been in Child and Family Services care since he was two years old and there were substance abuse issues in his family.

While he’s from Sioux Valley, the teen has been in a home in Brandon for the last four months, which Janssens said has been going well.

“You’re a very young person with lots of life ahead of you — a lot of lessons to learn. I hope this has been an important one,” Combs said. “This incident … was a very disturbing one.”

Combs acknowledged the attack was “certainly unacceptable,” but said he had to sentence the teen for his involvement only.

Combs agreed with defence that the ISSP was unnecessary and went along with Janssens’ proposed sentence.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com