13-year-old accused of knife attack
Teenage girl in the care of the province was remanded Tuesday pending a bail hearing after charges were laid stemming from incident at a Fredericton group home
A 13-year-old girl has been remanded to a youth jail after being accused of assaulting a group-home staff member with a knife.
The teenager - whose identity is protected by the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act - appeared in youth court by telephone from the Fredericton Police Force station Tuesday morning to face three charges.
She’s accused of assaulting a female staff member of her group home with a knife, attempting to steal that woman’s car and damaging a window at the group home, all on Monday in Fredericton.
The Fredericton Independent isn’t identifying the complainant or specifying which group home at which the alleged incident occurred so as to avoid potentially identifying the accused.
Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan objected to the girl’s release.
“There’s a lot of concerns for the safety of the public, the [group home] staff and for [the girl] herself,” he said.
In the time leading up to the girl’s bail hearing, court heard, officials will be working on a safety plan to see if arrangements can be made that would negate the need to hold the girl in custody pending the outcome of her case.
Social worker Holly Lloyd told Judge Cameron Gunn the girl was staying at the group home because she’s subject to a permanent guardianship order.
Though bail hearings are typically held in Fredericton court Thursdays and Mondays, the judge scheduled the girl’s hearing for Wednesday, given her age and efforts to address any safety concerns.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.