An Ontario judge has condemned the provincial policy requiring routine strip-searches of youth detainees, calling it a violation of constitutional rights. Justice David Stewart Rose ruled on Tuesday that the two teenage girls charged in the 2022 death of Kenneth Lee had their charter rights infringed upon due to the invasive searches. He found the policy troubling and decided to reduce the sentences of the accused girls.
The judge stated that the routine searches, which took place when the girls returned from court appearances or family visits, violated their privacy rights under Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Moreover, Rose emphasized the need for heightened privacy protections for youth, as stipulated in the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which affords more rights than those granted to adult detainees.
At the time of the incidents, the two girls—aged 13 and 16—were strip-searched multiple times while in custody. One girl had undergone the procedure six times, while the other had been strip-searched three times across different facilities. These actions were part of the standard protocols at the institutions, which the judge found to be in violation of provincial guidelines.
This ruling is part of an ongoing legal case tied to the death of Kenneth Lee, who was swarmed and killed by a group of teenage girls in December 2022. The case has also sparked broader discussions on detention conditions, with human rights groups advocating for reforms in Canada’s juvenile detention practices, including calls to end the incarceration of immigration detainees in provincial jails.
Sources:
- Ontario Court of Justice
- Youth Criminal Justice Act
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
