Lawyers are recommending the maximum juvenile sentence for a Saskatoon teen who set fire to a classmate.
This, plus the period she was in custody from the date of her arrest on September 5, 2024, will be three years from the date of her sentencing.
The young offender appeared in King’s Court on Thursday for a sentencing hearing that included emotional victim impact statements from her family, fellow students and Evan Hardy University staff.
The assault occurred on the second day of classes in 2024, forcing some students and staff to leave the school, a court heard on Thursday.
One student said, “I can’t help but feel devastated by the place where I once felt safe,” adding that he still lives with the effects of the incident every day.
Young offenders, victims and other young witnesses Names cannot be given under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. At the time, the perpetrator was 14 years old and the victim was 15 years old, and now they are both 16 years old.
planned hallway attack
On September 5, 2024, the attacker brought a water bottle filled with gasoline to the school. When the lunch bell rang and the hallways filled with students, the boy poured gas on the victim’s head and set him on fire, the court was previously told.
The girl suffered burns to 40% of her body and spent several months in hospital, but survived.
A teacher who jumped in to put out the fire also suffered burns.
In December, the teenage pleaded guilty Attempted murder of the victim and unlawful injury to the teacher.
On Thursday, the Crown and defense jointly recommended intensive rehabilitation and a custodial supervision order. This is a special punishment given for serious crimes under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
For attempted murder charges, the maximum sentence allowed under such an order is three years from the date of sentencing. In this case, the sentence consists of two years of secure custody followed by one year of community supervision.
Just weeks after the attack in the fall of 2024, the Crown notified the court that it would seek adult sentencing for the teenager. The maximum sentence for an adult convicted of attempted murder is life in prison.
On Thursday, Crown prosecutor Zachary Huiwan explained why the Crown had changed its position recommending a juvenile sentence.
“This position is probably shocking to most people,” Huiwan said.
He mentioned that recent decisions The Supreme Court of Canada directly addressed when it is appropriate to sentence a youth as an adult. He emphasized. Criminal justice system for young people Huiwan said the assumption is based on the principle of “mitigation of moral responsibility or diminished responsibility,” and that the Crown must refute the assumption “beyond a reasonable doubt” in any particular case.
In this case, the young offender was 14 years old and not socially and emotionally mature. She has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, juvenile schizophrenia, cannabis use disorder, and pyromania disorder.
Huiwan said the king has a duty to bring matters to court where there is a reasonable chance of success, and all lower courts are bound by the Supreme Court’s rulings.
Defense lawyers Fola Adelugba and Jonathan Stockdale represented the juvenile offender. Adelugba noted that it is unusual for the defense to agree to the maximum sentence.
However, she argued that a full term of intensive youth sentence would provide the best opportunity for rehabilitation and planned reintegration into society.
“That’s how we protect the public in the long term,” she said.
The young offender stood in court Thursday and read a prepared apology.
“I know saying I’m sorry isn’t enough, but that’s how I truly feel,” she said. “I would like to apologize to those affected by my actions.”
Judge Krista Zar said she needed time to consider the matter and reserved her decision until March 16.
“I’m still alive”: Victim
Before the lawyers made their submissions, the court heard from family members, fellow students and staff about the impact of the crime.
The victim was not in the courtroom but watched the proceedings via video link from another room in the courtroom.
But her parents were in the front row of the courtroom. They gave victim impact statements on their behalf and read out a statement written by their daughter.
“I’m still alive,” the victim’s mother said out loud as she read out her daughter’s words.
“I’m left-handed now. I never really liked talking to people to begin with, but now I don’t even want to try, because I look and sound different than I did before I lit the fire.”
The teen wrote that she is more afraid of large crowds and doesn’t like being around people she doesn’t know. She said her hospital stay during her recovery was filled with pain and discomfort.
“Going back to school was tough. I started a new school, which meant new people and a new environment,” she wrote. “Everything is so hard, but it’s nice to get back into a routine again.”
Listen | A teenage girl whose high school was set on fire describes her harrowing experience.
The 15-year-old boy who was set on fire at Evan Hardy University shares his harrowing story.
Her best friend, who was also harassed by her attacker, appeared in court to give a statement on Thursday.
She said the worst part was having flashbacks of that day and remembering how numb she felt.
Incidents that trouble educational assistants
A teaching assistant who was supervising juvenile offenders that day also spoke in court.
She spoke for nearly 20 minutes about the trauma she experienced, saying that day will be etched in her mind forever. After the incident, she tried to return to work at Evan Hardy, but found being in the building too stimulating for her, she said.
She also said she enjoyed watching the perpetrator improve during the months they worked together last school year, and said she hopes the boy gets the help he needs.
“My heart broke that day and it still hurts,” she said, adding that she hopes the teen knows how much she wishes she knew what was happening to her.
“But it’s too late,” the woman said. “She cannot escape this outcome.”
agreed statement of facts
The Crown read a 40-minute agreed statement of facts into the record in December. Prosecutor Zachary Huiwan read them again Thursday.
The court heard that the victim had become friends with her attacker the year before, but they ended their friendship because they were texting frequently. The assailant then began threatening her and another friend.
The victim said the 2024 school holidays had been a summer of harassment, including threats to make the victim’s life a “living hell”.
She and her friend talked to their parents and raised their concerns with police and school authorities.
The parents of two 15-year-old female students at Evan Hardy College in Saskatoon say they went to the school with police multiple times between June and August 2024 because they were concerned about escalating online threats from the student, who is currently charged with setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.
The school developed a safety plan for the teenage offender, which included bag searches and removing a weapon from beating her before school. However, the baggage search did not include checking the contents of the boy’s black metal water bottle.
On September 5, 2024, the girl arrived at school during the second period, but because she was late for class, she did not enter the school and instead walked around the hallway with the teacher.
During the third period, the girl was still in the hallway with staff, but her behavior was causing problems. Staff called the girl’s family and instructed them to come pick her up.
The court heard that when the lunch bell rang, staff could tell “something was going on” but did not anticipate what actually happened.
The girl pushed through the staff and poured the contents of the bottle over the victim’s head, then took out a lighter and ignited the liquid.
“A voice told me to do it,” the teenage offender told police after the attack.
The victim was airlifted to a burn unit in Edmonton, where he remained for six weeks. She was then transferred to Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital, where she remained until just before Christmas 2024.
She suffered large scars on her face, arms, torso and hands and required multiple surgeries.
she shared her story In March 2025, he spoke to CBC about his long and arduous journey towards physical recovery and his determination to continue playing guitar despite the challenges caused by his injury.
her parents was also asked How police and schools responded to the warnings leading up to the attack.