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Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
MANDEL: No more jail time for any of the deadly swarming girls?
Kenneth Lee is shown in a Toronto Police Service handout photo. In the end, it looks like none of the eight girls guilty in the swarming of Ken Lee will spend one more day in youth jail. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The last teen convicted for the heinous crime that shocked the city and beyond was found guilty of manslaughter in May by Superior Court Justice Philip Campbell and at her sentencing hearing Wednesday, both the defence and the Crown agreed her penalty shouldn't involve a return to custody. Just like the others. The only disagreement was on the length of probation for the young killer, who was 14 at the time of the 'vicious' group assault on the 59-year-old homeless man in the parkette at Front St. and University Ave. five days before Christmas 2022 . Crown Sarah De Filippis told the judge she was abandoning an application to have the girl, now 17, sentenced as an adult and had reconsidered the credit she should earn for the nearly eight months she spent in youth custody before being released on strict bail in August 2023. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. By giving her 2 1/2 times credit for what Campbell found were Charter-violating strip searches, she'll have served the equivalent of 20 months in detention, the prosecutor said, so she proposed a sentence of 16 months probation, with the first 12 months spent in an Intensive Support and Supervision Program (ISSP). Defence lawyer Kathryn Doyle said the girl, who already had PTSD before the crime, suffers nightmares and flashbacks as a result of the illegal strip searches and should be credited with 20 to 24 months in custody and sentenced to just 12 months probation, with half of it under an ISSP. Recommended video Both Doyle and De Filippis agreed the remorseful teen is making remarkable progress and has great rehabilitative potential: She's sought counselling on her own initiative, has one semester left to complete high school at an alternative school and has her sights on social work or hair braiding. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Why, the Crown added, she's even withstood the unprecedented scrutiny this case has brought — from a New York Times reporter at the girls' bail hearing to being the basis of an episode of Law and Order Toronto. When she rose to speak, she certainly seemed nothing like the feral attacker seen over and over in the shocking swarming videos played at her trial. 'I'm ready to finally express how I feel about everything that happened,' she began shakily. 'I want to say that I'm sorry to Mr. Lee's family, and especially Ms. Tong, who was present that evening.' Read More The senseless attack began over one of the girl's coveting a bottle of booze belonging to Lee's friend, Erika Tong. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When Lee stepped in to protect her, the angry mob descended on him like a ' bunch of wolves on top of a piece of meat, ' as a shelter worker would later say. Their names protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, all the girls, aged between 13 and 16, were originally charged with second-degree murder. Seven would plead guilty to lesser charges – five to manslaughter, one to assault and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. All were sentenced to different periods of probation. From the start, this final girl was one of the most violent during the swarming, Campbell said in his May judgment, using a pair of scissors to stab him at least once with 'irrational and inexplicable malice .' Yet the judge acquitted her of second-degree murder because he wasn't satisfied she intended to kill Lee nor that she'd inflicted the fatal stab wound to his heart. Instead, Campbell convicted her of manslaughter — the charge to which she tried to plead guilty at the beginning of her murder trial but was rebuffed by the Crown. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I wanted to apologize even though I know it won't make anything better,' she continued, reading from a letter she'd submitted to court. 'And if I had the opportunity to apologize to Mr. Lee, I would. I know nothing I say will ever change what happened. But I still want to say that I'm truly sorry and accept full responsibility and I'm making an effort to grow as a person.' Choking back tears, she promised she's changed her mindset and will do 'something good' with her future. We can only hope. She will learn her fate Friday afternoon — but she doesn't have to worry that she's going back to jail. mmandel@ MLB Celebrity Wrestling Canada Toronto & GTA
Edmonton Journal
12 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Sentencing submissions expected today for girl in deadly swarming attack
Kenneth Lee is shown in a Toronto Police Service handout photo. Photo by Toronto Police Service via CP TORONTO — Sentencing submissions are expected today for a teen girl found guilty of manslaughter in a fatal swarming attack on a homeless Toronto man. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The teen was one of eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 who were arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Kenneth Lee. The other seven girls pleaded guilty to lesser charges — five to manslaughter, one to assault and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. This girl, who was 14 at the time of the attack, also tried to plead guilty to manslaughter at the start of her trial, but her plea was rejected by the Crown. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again In May, Ontario Justice Philip Campbell found her not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. The judge said the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the girl dealt the fatal blow to Lee, or had the state of mind required for murder during the December 2022 swarming. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Toronto police officer's drunken crash followed shift spent drinking with colleagues, tribunal docs allege
Social Sharing More than two years after a Toronto police officer pleaded guilty to impaired driving, disciplinary charges against his superior are raising questions about the night of the collision and the integrity of one of the force's investigative drug teams. Then-Det.-Const. Jason Boag was arrested after a collision north of Toronto early in the morning of Jan. 31, 2023. He pleaded guilty to impaired driving that April. Then, in November 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of professional misconduct before the Toronto Police Service's disciplinary tribunal, where a hearing officer described the case as an "off-duty" incident. But that's not the case, according to pending disciplinary charges against Boag's superior, Det. Mark Beson. CBC News attempted to contact Beson by phone and email. A representative for the Toronto Police Association said Beson was aware of this story before its publication, but the officer had no comment. Beson — who is not currently suspended and next appears before the tribunal on Aug. 26 — faces seven disciplinary charges for allegedly spending Jan. 30, 2023 at a Buffalo Wild Wings, where he and the five detective constables under his supervision drank alcohol on-duty. More concerning though, say criminal defence lawyers, are the allegations that Beson later falsified records to conceal his team's misconduct. A finding that Beson altered paperwork would "be substantial fodder for any criminal defence lawyer" who encounters the detective, defence lawyer Craig Zeeh said. "You have an officer who's willing to lie — why not willing to lie under oath? Why not willing to lie in court?" said Zeeh. "If you have an officer willing to fudge records to support his narrative, that can undermine many investigations, depending on his role in them." Adam Weisberg, vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, agreed. "If there's a lot of meat to this allegation … I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of charges get stayed wherever this officer's evidence is key," Weisberg said. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada declined to say how many charges, if any, have been dropped because of the allegations against Beson. Toronto police are "not aware of any" cases that ended as a result of Beson's charges, spokesperson Nadine Ramadan said via email. Officers spent 8 hours at Wild Wings, docs suggest On Jan. 30, 2023, Beson, supervisor for a "Clandestine Lab Team," arrived at the Wild Wings inside an arena at 11:59 a.m., according to Toronto police tribunal records. His team was scheduled to work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to tribunal documents. Beson and the five detective constables under his supervision allegedly drank alcohol. "Surprise, surprise," said James Lowry, a former Toronto police officer who investigated allegations of drug squad corruption. Lowry, now a Winnipeg defence lawyer, said officers in specialized and plainclothes units have more autonomy than their uniformed colleagues. "You should be professional, and you've got a fair bit of service, so you shouldn't need to be babysat," he said. However, that freedom can entail opportunities for misconduct. "You'd never do it in uniform," Lowry said of the alleged on-duty drinking. "Not that it hasn't happened, but I'd be very surprised." Beson and Boag left the restaurant shortly after 8 p.m and drove in a police vehicle to the drug squad building, according to tribunal documents. Around 10:25 p.m., a "highly intoxicated" Boag left the drug squad building and drove away. A Newmarket court heard that OPP officers dispatched to a collision in Township of King, north of Toronto, shortly after midnight on Jan. 31 found Boag in a sedan against the centre barrier of Highway 400. According to tribunal records, Boag had struck a dump truck. Boag, who identified himself as a police officer, had urinated on himself, according to a court transcript. When an officer asked for Boag's licence, he presented his debit card. Knowing the TPS professional standards unit would investigate following Boag's collision, Beson allegedly changed his and his teammates' shift times on a sign-in sheet to indicate the group started and finished work earlier than they actually had, so it would appear the group had not been drinking on duty. Beson initialed the sheet for his entire team, according to tribunal documents. Only 1 disciplinary case mentions drinking 'on duty' It's not clear why Boag's impaired driving disciplinary charges were treated as an "off-duty" incident given the accusation that Boag, Beson and four others were drinking on duty. The sentencing decision, written by Supt. Shane Branton, does not mention when, where, or with whom Boag became intoxicated. Branton did not respond to requests for comment. "In any case brought before the tribunal, the prosecutor evaluates the available evidence and lays the charges they determine to be most appropriate," Ramadan said in an email. A summary of the prosecution submissions in the same ruling also does not mention the time Boag spent drinking on duty, as described in documents outlining Beson's pending charges. Reached by phone and asked why Boag did not face discipline for on-duty conduct, Insp. Lisabet Benoit, who prosecuted the case, said she would review her notes. "I will endeavour to get some clarity for you," Benoit said. Hours later, she texted a CBC News reporter declining further comment. Boag's lawyer Sandip Khehra declined to comment specifically on the tribunal's decision to treat the officer's misconduct as off-duty. "When you're working out resolutions with prosecutors, there's a little bit of give and take," he said. "Sometimes they massage the facts." 'Too early to tell' possible sanctions It's not clear if any of the other four officers on Beson's team have faced discipline in connection with the case. "Only disciplinary matters that appear before the tribunal are made public," Ramadan, the Toronto police spokesperson, said. Officers found guilty at the disciplinary tribunal can be fired, but a hearing officer will weigh several factors when deciding on a penalty, according to Ian Johnstone, a lawyer who has prosecuted cases for police services, including Toronto's. "It's too early to tell with just the charge," Johnstone said.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Driver charged after fleeing from Toronto police, hitting parked cars
A Toronto Police Service logo patch is shown in Toronto, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby Toronto police have arrested a man after he hit several vehicles while attempting to flee from officers following a traffic stop. In a release, police said officers responded to reports of a person with a gun just before 1:30 a.m. in the area of King Street West and Portland Street on July 26. The suspect was driving a silver Volkswagen and allegedly pointed a gun at someone near the intersection, according to police. When officers found the vehicle, they ordered the driver to turn off the vehicle and step out, but they said he did not comply. Instead, police said the driver reversed the car and struck a scooter and a vehicle on the road, before turning into an alleyway and hitting another parked car. Officers followed the vehicle and were able to arrest the driver a short time later. Mrunmay Ukey, 27, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with fail to stop for police and dangerous operation. He is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in September.
CTV News
22-07-2025
- CTV News
Toronto police ID suspect wanted in dog attack near Kensington Market
Christian Iraheta-Sorto, 38, of Toronto, is wanted in connection with an alleged dog attack. (Toronto Police Service) Police have identified a suspect in an investigation into a man who they say was walking a pair of unleashed dogs that allegedly attacked someone near Toronto's Kensington Market earlier this month. Investigators previously said officers were called to the area of Huron and Baldwin streets for an animal complaint on the afternoon of Thursday, July 3. It's alleged that the suspect was walking three dogs at the time and two of them were not on a leash. The suspect and the victim got into a 'verbal argument' before the two unleashed dogs charged and attacked the victim, police said. The victim was left with non-life-threatening injuries. Police released images of the suspect on Saturday in an effort to identify him and described the two dogs as possibly Pit Bull Terriers or a similar breed. In an update on Tuesday, police identified the suspect as 38-year-old Toronto resident Christian Iraheta-Sorto. He's wanted on a Criminal Code charge of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, as well as two counts each of dog unlawfully at large, dog bite a person, and fail to prevent dog from biting or attacking under the Dog Owners' Liability Act. Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
