Girl’s teen killers named on the Net
p2pnet news | Crime:- Toronto, Canada’s, first killing of 2008 involved three teenagers and ended with a 15-year-old girl being charged with first-degree murder, together with a 17-year-old boy.
The victim, Stefanie Rengel,14, who was stabbed to death on New Year’s day, was the daughter of two Toronto police officers.
Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), “prohibits the publication of information ‘… if it would identify the child or young person as having been a victim of, or as having appeared as a witness in connection with, an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by a young person’,” says the Toronto Star.
However, memorial pages dedicated to the memory quickly sprang up on Facebook identifying not only Stefanie. The names of the two teenagers accused of killing her were also posted online.
Police have now officially released her name, with the consent of her parents, Patricia Hung and Adolfo Rengel-Gonzalez, says the Toronto Star, which adds:
A day earlier, the family was adamant the information not be released and Staff. Insp. Brian Raybould, head of the homicide squad, cautioned reporters to respect the ban or risk going to jail.
Raybould said yesterday he was aware of the postings identifying Rengel on Facebook. But he said he wouldn’t have considered laying obstruction of justice charges unless “we had a complaint from the family.” In that case, he would have turned to the Crown attorney’s office at the Ministry of the Attorney General before proceeding further. “It’s not my job to make the law, it’s only my job to enforce it.”
The issue has also arisen this week in connection with the death of a 13-year-old Mississauga boy. He died in hospital 30 days after being involved in an altercation. Two teens face numerous charges. Again, while media outlets are prohibited from naming the victim and the youths charged, their names and faces are all over Facebook.
Crown Prosecutors are demanding an adult sentence for the two teens, who were remanded in custody Thursday until a video appearance January 16, says the CBC, adding:
“The pair, who were led into the courtroom in handcuffs and placed together in the prisoners’ dock for the proceedings, have elected a trial by judge and jury. A bail hearing will be held before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.”
On Facebook, at 8:45 am Pacific, In Loving Memory of Stefanie Rengel had 3,114 members. By 8:50 the number had swelled to 3,131, with new people joining all the time.
“I dont know Stefanie, but with the pictures on here and on the news, I could tell she was a beautiful warm hearted person, adn I wanted to pay my respects by joining this group,” posted Lime-Dessi Fava from Toronto. “I find it HORRIBLE that someone would acctually do that, especially to a 14 year old girl, and m 14 as well, I cant even imagine how horrified her parents must be. RIP Stefanie.”
Also see:
HitWise – Obama Beats Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire Online, January 2, 2008
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January 5th, 2008 at 3:33 am
How can the law protect human garbage because of they age? those 2 teen should have they life completly destroyed with the most extreme punishment available. but sadly where in canada, and here, protecting the criminal is very important. The only justice whould be to remove those two low life sub-human elements from circulation and make an exemple of them to show other young criminal that been a teen is not an excuse to comite crime. the sad thing about that is that capital punishment is not use in canada any more… who want to pay to keep to animals alive in jail.
The name of under 18 criminal should be well know to anyone. the law is public matter and been under 18 is used as a excuse to often by teen to advoid punishment and consequences.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Keep in mind that in our free and democratic system, not everyone charged with a crime necessarily did it. They’re innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The names of youth offenders (and victims, btw) is protected precisely because young people are young people and not fully mature adults. The Young Offenders Act was created in those cases where it is not clear that the young people knew what they were doing.
And that’s up to the judge whether the young suspects will be tried as adults or as young offenders. I understand the prosecution is seeking that they be tried as adults. Likely the defense will be opposed but it will be the judge that will make that determination. The victim’s family didn’t want *her* name revealed either but somebody decided they knew better and posted it anyway. That privacy was also protected under the Youth Offenders Act. It also protects sexual abuse victim’s names and their offender name’s so the *victim* isn’t identified.
If a person young person is found guilty of the crime, I might agree with you about publishing their names. But not before then. They don’t need that hanging over their lives simply having been suspected. Neither do acquitted adults for that matter but I doubt they’ll ever change that.