1st teen sentenced in Kenneth Lee case gets 15 months probation

The first teenage girl to be sentenced in the 2022 death of Toronto homeless man Kenneth Lee will not face any more time in custody and will instead spend time on probation while participating in a community-based program for young people with mental health issues.

The girl, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was 13 at the time of the December 18, 2022 attack in downtown Toronto, was credited for 15 months of effective pre-trial custody and will serve another 15 months of probation under an Intensive Support and Supervision Program, which is designed as an alternative to custody for youth who have been diagnosed with mental health disorders. She cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Justice David Stewart Rose said Monday the sentence reflects that the teen has taken accountability for her actions, that community interventions appear to be working and that she experienced institutional malfeasance while in custody.

He said the teen was forced to strip naked during searches a total of seven times. She was also taken to a remote detention facility far from family, and institutional staff didn't always take her to court when necessary, he said.

"Further custodial sentence is not necessary to meet the need of accountability," Rose said, adding that the teen is at the lower end of the range when it comes to the likelihood to reoffend in a violent manner.

Speaking outside court, defence lawyer Leo Adler said his client had just turned 13 when Lee was attacked.

"If it speaks to anything, it speaks to the difficulty of peer pressure, the difficulty of not going along, and I'm glad that the judge also made a point of saying this was not something that was deliberate," he said.

"The Youth Criminal Justice Act has a different type of sentencing than adults, and if there's anything that I hope, I hope that people realize that we do treat 13-year-olds different than we treat anyone who is 18 or over."

Attack called 'vicious and cowardly'

Police have alleged Lee, who was 59 and living in the city's shelter system, died after he was swarmed and stabbed by a group of girls not far from Union Station. In his sentencing decision, Rose described what happened as "vicious and cowardly."

While delivering the sentence in a Toronto courtroom Monday morning, Rose said this teen did not deliver the fatal wound to the heart that ultimately killed Lee, but said she did join the group in physically assaulting him. 

Rose also outlined the teen's struggles with mental health, including ADHD.

He listed a number of factors in making his decision, including that the teen pleaded guilty without reservation, wrote a letter of apology to Lee's family and, in his view, has taken accountability for her role in Lee's death.

Court had heard earlier from Lee's brother-in-law, Eric Shum, who had read a victim impact statement at a sentencing hearing for the teenager. Shum had described his family as "distraught" after Lee's death and said he felt "helpless" in trying to keep his family together in the wake of the loss.

In his sentencing decision on Monday, Rose listed off details about Lee that he had learned: the he was known to tell corny jokes, that he bonded with younger family members over pizza, chocolate milk and a good game of Monopoly and that he told family that his goal in life was to "help people."

Seven other teens, who were between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time, have been arrested and charged in the case.

Three others pleaded guilty — two to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm. Another four are set to stand trial next year, with three on second-degree murder charges and one for manslaughter.