By Charlene Tebbutt

Teen found not guilty of aggravated assault in party stabbing case

Dec 10, 2018 | 1:32 PM

A teenage boy charged in connection with a violent stabbing at a bush party north of Prince Albert last year that sent a teen girl to hospital with multiple stab wounds has been found not guilty of aggravated assault.

But the youth, who was 16 at the time of the incident in October 2017, was found guilty of possessing a knife for the purpose of committing an offence. In court Monday in Prince Albert, the youth was sentenced to nine months of probation on the single count, with conditions to keep the peace, keep away from alcohol and not possess a knife.

Provincial Court Judge Felicia Daunt said it was clear the youth, who cannot be identified due to his age, was carrying a knife the night of the party, but said there is not enough evidence to prove he did the stabbing. The Crown called 20 witnesses in the case, most of whom were drunk and only saw snippets of the evening, she added, and many witnesses shared information with each other.

“Constructing a coherent narrative from this evidence is like putting together a charity store jigsaw puzzle, with colours faded and pieces missing,” Daunt said in her decision.

The youth’s trial took place in November at Prince Albert Provincial Court. Court heard that hundreds of local teens were at the party in the Rural Municipality of Buckland. Several fights took place throughout the evening, including between the accused and the young victim.

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Daunt found the girl minimized both her level of intoxication and her own behaviour the night of the stabbing, adding her testimony had “credibility problems.” Daunt found the girl was in at least two “skirmishes” the night of the party and “fomented several more.”

Daunt also found the girl had gotten information from a number of other people, including her mother, within hours of arriving at hospital following the stabbing. Although she believed the accused to be her assailant, Daunt said the girl gave different versions of what happened and her memory of the incident was not enough to prove his identity.

“I find she was a lot of information about what other people saw and heard within 12 hours of arriving at the hospital … her story changed accordingly.”

Daunt believed the testimony of another witness, who had not been drinking the night of the incident, and testified she saw the accused leave the party before the stabbing, after he was attacked and beaten up by a group of girls.

The boy’s defence lawyer said in court Monday that his client made a “very poor” decision bringing the knife to the party.

“There’s no doubt he had a knife on him,” Ron Parchomchuk said in court Monday. “Given the offence that he was facing, this is a reasonably minor incident.”

Under the conditions of the probation order, the youth must also report to a youth worker and be assessed for any alcohol-related issues. Court heard the youth had moved to another province with his family before the incident happened and continues to live there.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt