Girl pleads guilty to assaulting fellow student

BRANDON — A high school student who admitted to attacking another girl in the hallway says she is taking responsibility for her wrongdoing.

The 15-year-old, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to assault in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday.

“I do feel terrible about what I did. I should not have done it. She’s a good person and she never deserved that,” the teen said.

On Feb. 9, the accused came up behind the girl near her locker at Vincent Massey school, pulled her hair and punched her in the head, according to an agreed statement of facts.

“It was on video surveillance with other students around, and was done in front of the principal, who had luckily been there to break it up quickly,” said Georgia Steeves, an articling student with the Crown attorney’s office.

She said police had been notified earlier that day that the accused had threatened to assault the teen.

“Vincent Massey administrative staff had spoken to her about not putting her hands on anyone else, and they advised police that she seemed to have calmed down,” Steeves said.

On Feb. 17, police received an email from the victim’s mother, detailing how the accused appeared to be organizing a group of people to jump the teen outside school.

The girl told police she and the accused had multiple arguments online and at school. She also told police the accused had thrown water in her face, Steeves said.

Police arrested the teen, who had no criminal record prior to the incident.

The Crown suggested the accused receive a sentence of 12 months of supervised probation with conditions to keep the peace and have good behaviour, attend counselling or programming for anger management and complete 15 hours of community service within six months.

Defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki told court the girls used to be best friends.

“Unfortunately, there was a falling out between the two girls, and there was a series of arguments which had taken place between them,” he said.

The accused was suspended from school for 20 days after the Feb. 9 assault.

Since the incident, the girl has completed Grade 10 and has gone to counselling, Sieklicki said.

The defence asked the judge to consider an absolute discharge, or alternatively, a conditional discharge to follow probation orders for three to six months.

Judge Patrick Sullivan gave the accused a 12-month conditional discharge, which requires her to keep the peace, have good behaviour and be prohibited from communicating with the victim except for incidental contact at school.

Sullivan said he hopes the two girls can reconcile in future.

— Brandon Sun