Teen seeks reduced sentence in Kenneth Lee case over strip searches
CTV
A teen girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the alleged swarming of a homeless Toronto man is seeking to have her sentence reduced after she was repeatedly made to strip naked during searches while in custody.
A teen girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the alleged swarming of a homeless Toronto man is seeking to have her sentence reduced after she was repeatedly made to strip naked during searches while in custody.
The teen was one of eight girls – all between the ages of 13 and 16 – arrested in the death of Kenneth Lee, who police allege was attacked by a group of girls in December 2022.
An agreed statement of facts related to the strip searches was read in court Wednesday as part of the teen's sentencing hearing, which is scheduled to continue next month.
It says the girl, who was 13 at the time, was forced to strip naked on four occasions while in custody at a Kingston, Ont., facility in the weeks following her arrest.
The document says she was also made to strip naked twice at a facility in London, Ont., earlier this year while in custody on an unrelated assault charge. She has since pleaded guilty to that charge, court heard.
The statement of facts says the searches were routine procedures after the girl arrived at a facility or returned from a family visit or court appearance.
A written policy that was in place at the Kingston facility from 2006 until January of this year required youth to strip naked for searches, according to the agreed statement of facts. The London facility’s written policy had no such requirement but two staff members “misunderstood,” the document said.
