A downtown Toronto court judge heard Wednesday as part of an agreed statement of facts that a teenage girl in custody had been strip-searched six times at two different facilities. The searches, which were part of routine procedures whenever she arrived or returned from a family visit or court appearance, were allegedly in violation of provincial policy.
These events took place at both the Sundance facility in Kingston, Ontario, run by the St. Lawrence Youth Association, and the Woodview facility in London, Ontario, operated by the Craigwood Children, Youth and Family Services. While Sundance had a written policy requiring strip searches that ended only in January 2023, Woodview reportedly had no such written policy.
The strip searches were in direct violation of Ontario Regulation 155/18, which allows strip searches only as a last resort and requires them to be conducted with consideration of the individual circumstances of the youth involved. Further, section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects individuals from unreasonable search and seizure. The Supreme Court of Canada found in R v Golden that strip searches are inherently humiliating and degrading.
The teen girl, who was among eight girls accused in the swarming attack of Kenneth Lee, a homeless man in Toronto, was in custody after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. At the time of her initial detention, she was reportedly 13 years old. She is currently seeking a reduced sentence, citing exacerbated body image issues due to the strip searches. Her identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services has proposed amendments to avoid such violations in the future. Additionally, a 2019 report from the Ontario Office of the Independent Police Review Director found inconsistencies in the execution of strip searches across the province, with an estimated 22,000 conducted annually by police.
For further details, visit the original article on JURIST.