Defence seeks probation for teen who pleaded guilty to assault in alleged swarming
Posted December 18, 2024 2:10 pm.
Last Updated December 18, 2024 2:48 pm.
A defence lawyer for a teen who pleaded guilty to assault in the alleged swarming of a homeless Toronto man says the girl should be sentenced to a year of probation.
In a sentencing hearing today, defence lawyer Karen Lau Po Hung argued the teen is taking responsibility for her role in the incident that led to the death of Kenneth Lee and making efforts to get her life back on track.
Lau Po Hung also raised several possible mitigating factors, including that the girl was strip searched three times while in custody in a way that left her completely naked, which is against provincial policy.
The girl, who was 13 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty in June to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon. Court has heard the weapon involved in the latter charge is a bag that belonged to Lee.
Police have alleged that Lee, a 59-year-old man who was living in the city’s shelter system, died after he was swarmed and stabbed by a group of girls in December 2022.
Eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 were charged with second-degree murder. Aside from the girl who pleaded guilty to assault charges, three others have pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
