Photo: File photo

The first of five youth who were charged in the swarming attack of a 13-year-old girl in September 2024 was sentenced Friday.

Cowardly. Horrific. Devastating.

These were some of the words used in Kelowna court Friday to describe the swarming attack on a 13-year-old girl last September near Gyro Beach.

One of the five youth who was charged in the Sept. 27, 2024 attack appeared in court Friday afternoon for sentencing, after she pleaded guilty to the assault in January.

The youth – whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and will be referred to as AP – was 17 years old at the time of the attack.

The court heard how the victim, who'll be referred to as YV, attended Gyro Beach at about 7 p.m. on the night of the attack for a boy's birthday party, after she was invited by someone she thought was a friend.

Crown prosecutor Jason Hatherly said the supposed friend had told others at the gathering that YV had been insulting people behind their backs and rumours had been spread that YV had insulted a local teen who had died.

YV has denied these allegations and later told police that she didn't know why she'd been the target of hostility.

After initially receiving some verbal abuse at the gathering, YV was surrounded by a large group and attacked just before 8:30 p.m. Several people filmed the vicious assault and four of the videos were shown in court, showing multiple people spitting on and punching YV, and then kicking her and throwing dirt on her while she lay on the ground.

YV was knocked unconscious, while people hurled insults at her and cheered on her attackers. AP's mother cried while the video played in court.

During his sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Hatherly said he would have criminally charged those who were encouraging the attack if police had been able to identify them.

'A shadow of the person I once was'

YV was treated at Kelowna General Hospital for swelling and bruising all over her body, and she reported that she also suffered a concussion. But her injuries have gone far deeper than the physical damage she received.

While YV didn't attend the sentencing hearing, her victim impact statement was read into court by her mother, detailing the lasting trauma she still suffers seven months later.

“Before that day I was happy and full of life. Now I feel broken, anxious, depressed, angry and constantly afraid,” she said. “I live in constant fear and no longer feel safe ... I don't understand why this happened and I struggle every day to make sense of it.”

YV has since been diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety, and she relies on medication to manage the “overwhelming emotions” and to be able to sleep. Her family has left B.C. as a result of the attack, and YV has been hospitalized several times “because [her] thoughts have become too overwhelming and unmanageable.”

She says she lashes out at her mother and sister for no reason, and then immediately breaks down in tears and apologizes.

“I don't want to hurt anyone, I'm just hurting so much inside and sometimes it spills out in ways I can't control,” she said. “I hate that this trauma has made me act like someone I'm not ... I am now just a shadow of the person I once was.”

YV's mother also read out her own victim impact statement, telling the court that she has been forced to quit her job so she can care for her daughter.

“I have watched my daughter suffer in ways no parent should ever have to witness ... she is drowning in pain that was forced upon her and as her mother it crushes me that I can't take that pain away. It kills me every single day to see her like this,” YV's mother said.

“All it takes is a sound, a smell, a sudden thought and she is no longer with us. I see the terror in her eyes, panic sets in, the way her body tenses and her joy is stolen in a matter of seconds.”

While she didn't go into specifics about the night of the attack, YV's mother said the image of finding YV “broken, alone and unrecognizable will be etched in my memory forever.”

In delivering AP's sentence, Judge Wyatt said the case had “probably the most significant impact on a victim and a family short of someone who's lost a family [member] due to murder.”

A 'cowardly' attack

Hatherly said AP was easily identifiable in the video, and she could be seen jumping in on the attack after YV had already been attacked by a co-accused.

“It's cowardly to team up on someone ... it's cowardly to attack a person when they're huddled up in a ball, trying to defend themselves from an assault by others,” he said.

He asked for a two-year probation order, which includes a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., along with 50 hours of community service.

Defence lawyer Michael Stephenson said AP, who's now 18 years old, lost her job as a result of the incident, but she's hoping to pursue post-secondary eduction in early childhood education.

He added that while she grew up in a stable and supportive home, she has abused alcohol since she was 12 years old, and now participates in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He said AP was under the influence of alcohol on the night of the attack

While Stephenson asked for a shorter period of curfew for his client, Judge Lisa Wyatt ultimately agreed with the Crown's sentencing position, handing AP the two-year probation order.

'Nothing other than horrific'

“I've been a judge for 12 years and this is really one of the most upsetting cases that I've come across,” Judge Lisa Wyatt said while delivering her decision.

“This offence can be described as nothing other than horrific. Although I sit here as a Youth Court judge in this case, I find myself as a parent, as a member of this community that so many of us call home, feeling disgusted and appalled at what I watched today.

"To see this huge group of young people, which included this offender ... attack and maul this defenceless 13-year-old child who lay on the ground in the fetal position – people hitting her, kicking her, pushing dirt in her face – is an image I won't soon forget."

AP hung her head and wiped away tears as Judge Wyatt addressed her directly.

“This was a group swarming of a 13 year old, a little girl lying on the ground, being beaten by a whole bunch of you, unprovoked, trying to protect herself and being knocked out,” Justice Wyatt said.

Judge Wyatt said it's “extremely rare” to incarcerate youth, and explained some of the differences between the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the criminal system for adults – the former being focused more on rehabilitation.

“We hope that we can address – through their rehabilitation, through work with the youth probation office – what brought them before the criminal justice system, what's underlying their behaviour ... that thereby protects the public in the long-term,” she said.

“You did a very bad thing and you hurt a group of people significantly ... but we do want you to address what happened and why it happened so you can move on as a contributing member of society in your adult years.”

While five youth were charged in this incident, Judge Wyatt called out the “many other nameless individuals who so cowardly participated in this crime, filming it and yelling and cheering it on. It's appalling.”

“The issue of youth violence in our community is something that people are upset about and afraid about,” she added.

One of the other youth who was charged in the attack pleaded guilty to assault earlier Friday morning. While AP was the first to be sentenced in the case, three of the five youth have pleaded guilty to date, while the other two are scheduled to plead guilty next month.