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A joint submission requesting a three-year sentence has been made by Crown and defence lawyers in the case of a 16-year-old girl who pleaded guilty to attempted murder after lighting a fellow student on fire.
The Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench judge in the case has reserved her decision until next month. The decision is expected in the case on March 16.
The joint submission asked for the maximum punishment of three years for the attacker: two years in custody and one in the community with no credit for time served.
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Sentencing submissions were heard during a hearing on Thursday for the incident which happened in September of 2024.
In December, the teen also pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing bodily harm to a teacher who tried to help the victim during the attack at Evan Hardy Collegiate.
In the victim’s impact statement to the court on Thursday, she detailed how her burns – injuries from the attack – have changed the way she looks and sounds. She told the court that she is now anxious in crowds and described intense pain while in hospital, her struggles moving to a new school after the attack and having to rethink her future career plans.
At the time of the incident, the attacker was 14 years old and the victim was 15. Neither the victim nor the perpetrator can be named due to provisions of Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.
According to an agreed statement of facts, which was read out in court by Crown prosecutor Ainsley Furlonger, the two girls had once been friends, but the victim ended the relationship after the attacker lit the roof of the school library on fire.
Details heard in court revealed the victim had been harassed to the point of obsession after ending the friendship, and her parents had previously contacted the police.
The court also heard the attacker had engaged in self harm and attempted suicide in the months before the incident. Additionally, she was under constant supervision while she attended the school due to the police report.
On Sept. 5, 2024, two aides were beside the attacker as she paced outside of the victim’s classroom.
When the bell rang, the aides stood between the attacker and victim, but despite their efforts the attacker forced her way past them, doused the victim with a flammable liquid and set her on fire.
The severely injured victim was taken to a hospital in Edmonton to recover.
After the incident, a knife and binder with entries detailing her bitterness towards the victim were found in the attacker’s locker, court heard.
A judge-alone trial was set for May, and the Crown originally intended to seek an adult sentence on the charges. Furlonger said the trial is no longer needed following the guilty pleas.
In the wake of the attack, Saskatoon Public Schools said it had identified areas of improvement in its risk-assessment protocols, as well as its discipline procedures and responses to traumatic events.
Sean Hayes, the teacher who was injured while intervening to help the victim, has since moved on to a new position at Tommy Douglas Collegiate.
–with files from The Canadian Press
