Probation for teen who lit girl's hair, made anti-Semitic remark
By Dean Pritchard ,Winnipeg Sun First posted: Thursday, January 02, 2014 06:23 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 02, 2014 06:37 PM EST
WINNIPEG -- A local teen who lit a classmate's hair on fire and made an anti-Semitic comment was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation.
The now 17-year-old boy was also ordered to complete 75 hours community service work for the November 2011 attack.
The boy previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon.
"It was a real big mistake," he told court Thursday.
Court heard the then 15-year-old boy and 15-year-old female victim -- both then students at Oak Park High School -- were in the hallway when the boy started flicking a lighter near the girl's hair and said, "Let's burn the Jew."
A few inches of the girl's hair was singed but she was otherwise uninjured.
Crown attorney Colin Soul said it "does not appear" the boy targeted the girl because she was Jewish but because he was a "bully and a jerk."
"If he could have taunted her in any other way, he would have," Soul said.
The Crown accepted the boy did not intend to burn the girl's hair, but was reckless in flicking the lighter the way he did, Soul said.
Defence lawyer Sandra Bracken said the boy did not think his words "particularly anti-Semitic," noting the two had an "established pattern" of greeting each other in derogatory terms.
"It wasn't as if he bullied her or targeted her in particular," Bracken said.
Following the boy's arrest, police looked at whether the assault qualified as a hate crime.
Judge Rob Finlayson said the boy's words were "totally vulgar and inappropriate," but he was satisfied the "impulsive and unplanned" assault was not racially motivated.
"It comes as no surprise it was (initially) viewed in the most negative light possible," Finlayson said.
dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @deanatwpgsun
Oak Park High School in Winnipeg. (JASON HALSTEAD/QMI AGENCY)
Probation for teen who lit girl's hair, made anti-Semitic remark | Home | Toronto Sun
By Dean Pritchard ,Winnipeg Sun First posted: Thursday, January 02, 2014 06:23 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 02, 2014 06:37 PM EST
WINNIPEG -- A local teen who lit a classmate's hair on fire and made an anti-Semitic comment was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation.
The now 17-year-old boy was also ordered to complete 75 hours community service work for the November 2011 attack.
The boy previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon.
"It was a real big mistake," he told court Thursday.
Court heard the then 15-year-old boy and 15-year-old female victim -- both then students at Oak Park High School -- were in the hallway when the boy started flicking a lighter near the girl's hair and said, "Let's burn the Jew."
A few inches of the girl's hair was singed but she was otherwise uninjured.
Crown attorney Colin Soul said it "does not appear" the boy targeted the girl because she was Jewish but because he was a "bully and a jerk."
"If he could have taunted her in any other way, he would have," Soul said.
The Crown accepted the boy did not intend to burn the girl's hair, but was reckless in flicking the lighter the way he did, Soul said.
Defence lawyer Sandra Bracken said the boy did not think his words "particularly anti-Semitic," noting the two had an "established pattern" of greeting each other in derogatory terms.
"It wasn't as if he bullied her or targeted her in particular," Bracken said.
Following the boy's arrest, police looked at whether the assault qualified as a hate crime.
Judge Rob Finlayson said the boy's words were "totally vulgar and inappropriate," but he was satisfied the "impulsive and unplanned" assault was not racially motivated.
"It comes as no surprise it was (initially) viewed in the most negative light possible," Finlayson said.
dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @deanatwpgsun
Oak Park High School in Winnipeg. (JASON HALSTEAD/QMI AGENCY)
Probation for teen who lit girl's hair, made anti-Semitic remark | Home | Toronto Sun
