ATHABASCA — A 19-year-old who consistently failed to obey her release conditions risks spending a year behind bars if she fails to follow court orders to avoid two individuals for the next 12 months.
In Athabasca Court of Justice March 25, the young woman pleaded guilty to one youth charge of failure to attend court, five adult counts of failure to comply with release order conditions to avoid two individuals, and one adult count of failure to comply with undertaking conditions.
The pleas came as part of a joint submission between defence lawyer Peter Shipanoff and Crown prosecutor Matthew Kerr. As part of the deal, an additional 25 counts of failure to comply with release conditions, five counts of failure to comply with undertaking conditions, and one count of failure to attend court were withdrawn.
Due to publication bans on the names of youth offenders under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the young woman cannot be named in relation to her adult charges.
Justice Gregory Rice accepted the submission, handing down two concurrent 12 month suspended sentences with year-long probation periods. Conditions of her probation are standard, with additional clauses mandating treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, along with no-contact orders for the same individuals listed in previous conditions.
“This is an interesting one,” said Rice. “In terms of the gravity of the offence, none of these are particularly strikingly serious charges … (but) the moral culpability is fairly high.”
“For some reason, (the male individual) seems to be your Achilles heel. Obviously, there must be something going on there, some sort of co-dependency,” said Rice.
Rice waived the $350 victim-fine surcharge due to the youth’s lack of work and allowed her nine months to pay $500 in fines stemming from her convictions.
Kerr said despite the number of charges against her, the youth had no previous convictions to submit. “It’s a number of trial matters, and a large number of subsequent breaches, administrative charges,” said Kerr.
“(The youth) is going to get a criminal record — she’s young, she has no record, so it’s a serious consequence. She’s accumulated a large amount of charges,” said Kerr.
The defendant, who has Indigenous heritage, waived her right to await a formal Gladue report, but Shipanoff did make a submission on behalf of his client.
“I’m informed and believe that (the youth) has very strong Gladue factors, which in my respectful submission, would make our joint submission appropriate,” said Shipanoff. “I’m advised that she has a Grade 9 education, she’s not in the work force.”
The facts
Kerr told court on Sept. 12, 2022, the accused was arrested for previous charges and was subsequently granted a release order. She was instructed to attend docket court in Athabasca the same day, but failed to attend and had no lawful excuse.
The court heard on Oct. 14, 2022, RCMP officers arrested the youth at a residence after receiving reports of her condition breach. The youth was found with a man she was prohibited from seeing under release order conditions imposed July 19, 2022. She was granted a release order with additional conditions.
Court-ordered conditions from July 19, 2022 and Oct. 15, 2022 were broken Nov. 4, 2022 when RCMP officers attending to an unrelated matter found the accused at the individual’s residence who she was ordered to avoid. She was again granted a release order with further conditions.
Kerr told court that the youth was arrested again on Jan. 6, 2023 after being located with the same individual she was under three release orders to avoid. The pair were located at a family member’s house, and the youth was granted release after signing an undertaking.
On August 26, 2023, officers arrested the youth on matters set for trial, and she was granted release via an appearance notice for her Athabasca court date slated for Sept. 25, 2023. The youth failed to attend and had no lawful excuse.
Kerr told court on Jan. 30, 2024, RCMP officers received a call from a woman stating the youth was in Calling Lake and possibly suicidal. Upon arrival, the youth was found not suicidal but with the same male she was under two orders to avoid. The pair had been at the woman callers house earlier in the day while she was under orders to avoid the woman and her residence.
