TORONTO — A teen girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a deadly group attack on a homeless man in Toronto was sentenced to 15 months of probation on Friday, with the judge taking into account time she has already spent in custody and the "unlawful" strip searches she underwent.
The girl entered a surprise plea in February as she and another teen were being tried for second-degree murder in the death of 59-year-old Kenneth Lee.
The teen was 16 at the time of the incident, which took place in a downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022 and allegedly involved eight girls. The fatal swarming was captured on security video, and the footage served as a central piece of evidence at trial.
In it, the girl can be seen throwing a traffic cone at Lee, then hitting him with one as he tries to defend himself against the group.
Before the teen was sentenced, Ontario Superior Court Justice Philip Campbell asked her if she wanted to address the court. Reading a letter she had written, the girl apologized for her actions and said she's taken time to reflect on her role in Lee's death.
"No words can undo what happened," she said. "My actions took away something sacred, something irreplaceable."
The teen added that she hopes to continue her education and prevent other youth from making the same mistakes she did.
Campbell sentenced the girl today after the Crown and defence jointly agreed on the 15-month probation sentence during submissions earlier this month, acknowledging the 288 days the girl had already spent in custody and six strip searches she was forced to undergo.
The girl will also have to undergo counselling and have no contact with her co-accused, among other conditions, he said.
Campbell said he believes the sentence balances the girl's participation in the deadly assault while considering her future opportunities. He said the girl has taken the time to think about the impact of her actions on others and she has the support of her family.
Police had arrested eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 in the case and charged them with second-degree murder, but seven of them have since pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Five have pleaded guilty to manslaughter, one to assault and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.
Several of the accused girls in the case had applied for a stay – including the teen who was sentenced Friday – arguing that repeated strip searches they underwent while in detention violated their rights.
Campbell released his reasons for rejecting the stay application on Friday, saying that although the strip searches were unlawful, he was not persuaded by the applicants' argument that nothing less than a stay would prevent future unconstitutional strip searches.
Campbell found that the strip searches violated the girls' right to be secure from unreasonable search and their right to security of the person under the Charter – and that a remedy for those violations is to reduce the sentences of those found guilty in the case.
Another accused girl is expected to receive a verdict later this month after concluding a judge-alone trial. She had tried to plead guilty to manslaughter but her plea was rejected by the Crown.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Rianna Lim and Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
