2 girls who pleaded guilty in alleged fatal swarming of Toronto homeless man sentenced to probation

Two girls who pleaded guilty in the alleged fatal swarming of a homeless man in Toronto will not face further time in custody and have instead been sentenced to probation.

One of the girls pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in the death of 59-year-old Kenneth Lee, while the other pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

The girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter will serve two years of probation and participate in a community-based program, while the girl who pleaded guilty to the assault charges will serve a year of probation. Both face additional conditions while under probation.

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Before sentencing, the pair sought to have the charges against them stayed, arguing their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated when they were repeatedly strip searched while detained at a youth facility.

Ontario Court Justice David Stewart Rose acknowledged today the girls’ privacy rights had been violated but said that should be remedied through a reduced sentence instead of a stay of proceedings.

The judge also pointed to strip searches as a major mitigating factor last year in sentencing two other girls who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case.

Police allege Lee, who was living in the city’s shelter system, was swarmed and stabbed by a group of eight girls in December 2022.

Two more girls are set to face trial before a judge alone in Ontario Superior Court in the coming days on charges of second-degree murder.

The remaining two are expected to be tried before a judge and jury in May, one of them for second-degree murder and one for manslaughter.