Teen sentenced to 30 months for role in attack on youth workers at Selkirk rehab facility
Jill Coubrough | CBC News | Posted: May 10, 2017 10:47 PM | Last Updated: May 10, 2017
'When he stood up and he apologized, that brought tears to my eyes' says injured student Jackie Healey
One of three teens who have pleaded guilty to their roles in a brutal attack on two youth support workers at the Selkirk Behavioural Health Foundation last year was given a 30-month sentence on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old, who can't be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to robbery in connection with the attack that gravely injured college practicum student Jackie Healey and her supervisor on May 29, 2016.
"I don't hate him. I almost feel sorry for him," said Healey, who was in court Wednesday for the sentencing.
Judge Cynthia Devine sentenced the boy to 20 months in jail followed by 10 months of community supervision, taking into account the 344 days he has served in custody to date. He is also banned from possessing any weapons and contacting the victims or their families.
In the attack, a youth at the addictions treatment facility beat Healey and her supervisor with a metal baseball bat and a sock filled with pool balls.
He and the 17-year-old then robbed Healey of her keys and took off in her truck.
Court heard the two teens had conspired with a third teen about breaking out of the centre, but the third teen was not present during the attack. He has pleaded guilty to helping plan the attack, and will be sentenced in June.
The other teen present at the attack has pleaded guilty to the violent assault, which left Healey with a fractured skull, bleeding of the brain, complete vision loss in her left eye and distorted vision in her right eye.
The 23-year-old woman also lives with severe emotional trauma and depression from the incident, Crown attorney Lisa Carson said.
"I'm struck by the physical injuries and the psychological injuries," Devine said during Wednesday's sentencing.
Carson read Healey's victim impact statement to the court Wednesday.
"I have cried gallons and gallons of tears over the last year," Healey wrote. "Sometimes I think it would have been easier if they just killed me."
The other victim, a 55-year-old woman, suffered 25 stitches to her head, fractured facial bones and has developed post-traumatic stress disorder, Carson said.
Teen apologizes
Throughout his Wednesday sentencing hearing, the 17-year-old sat hunched over with his hands in his face. When the judge offered him the chance to speak, he stood up to apologize to the court and Healey, who was sitting in the front row.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry," he said quietly. "For Jackie, she was starting college. I feel bad we had to take it away from her. I feel bad that we took her life away from her."
He also offered an apology to the other victim, who he said he previously had a good relationship with.
The judge told court she considered the young man's "many deficits" in her sentencing.
Court heard the boy has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and has severe cognitive impairments which affect his memory and ability to reason.
Sense of closure, says Healey
At the age of two, the boy, who was born in northern Manitoba, was placed in the care of Child and Family Services and bounced between foster placements, court heard.
Defence lawyer Tara Walker said many of the teen's biologicial relatives, including his grandparents and great-grandparents, are residential school survivors.
"He is in some way a product of all of that," Devine said.
She said the legacy of residential schools has translated into increased violence, addictions and higher incarceration rates for many Indigenous people.
Following the hearing, Healey said she left with a sense of closure and compassion for the teen convicted.
"You know, when he stood up and he apologized, that brought tears to my eyes," she said. "I wasn't expecting that. I didn't think he was going to apologize at all."
Healey said she felt the judge's sentence, just shy of the maximum sentence for a youth, was fair.
The two other teens involved will be sentenced at a later date.