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Mississauga News - Jan. 29, 2013 - By Louie Rosella
Boy accused of posting fight on Facebook photographed,
fingerprinted by cops
Charged. A former student at Tomken Road Middle School is
facing criminal charges for posting a video of a
fight between two students on his Facebook page. File photo
A 13-year-old Mississauga boy charged with mischief and criminal harassment says he feels "badly" for filming two girls fighting and posting the video on his Facebook page.
Ironically, the Grade 8 student, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, said he wanted to be a cop when he grows up.
That all changed Dec. 19 after Peel Regional police received a complaint about the video and handcuffed him at his school.
He was later charged with mischief and criminal harassment and was fingerprinted and photographed by police, he said.
The boy, wearing a tie and dress shirt, made his first appearance in Brampton court today with his mother and almost two dozen supporters.
Justice of the Peace Maurice Hudson adjourned the matter to Feb. 26.
His mother, a college-educated social service worker, said the incident has traumatized her son.
"He didn't sleep at all last night and he was nervous all this morning, his stomach was hurting him. I guess he was panicking," she said.
"This harm will last a long time. What do you think he's going to think when he sees a police officer?"
The boy's mother and supporters don't condone his actions, but argue the incident didn't have to end up in the criminal justice system.
"This is a travesty of court time and of taxpayers' time," said family friend Demelash Mersha.
"He took a video and posted something on the internet, something that teenagers do a million times a day."
Peel Regional Police Sgt. Pete Brandwood said today the force stands behind the investigating officers in pursuing criminal charges.
"There are a number of possible responses that the investigating officers could have pursued in this matter, as is the case in all investigations.
The decision to put this matter before the courts, by way of laying a criminal charge, was deemed to be the most appropriate course of action," se (sic) said.
"Subsequently this matter is currently before the courts and Peel Regional Police will not be in a position to comment further until the Courts have had the opportunity to review the incident in its totality."
Brandwood added that anyone charged with offences such as these is subject to having their photograph and fingerprints taken under the Identification of Criminals Act.
The boy, who plays organized hockey in Mississauga, admitted to posting the video, but said he took it down the following day, before police charged him.
He said he never meant to cause harm. "I feel badly," he said.
Court heard the boy is accused of "engaging in threatening conduct" when he filmed the fight on his cellphone back on Dec. 17, causing one of the girls to "fear for her safety."
He's also accused of mischief because, according to police, he "recorded (a girl) being assaulted ... causing the victim to not want to attend school."
The boy, a former student at Tomken Road Middle School, was also suspended and forced to attend another school.
The footage he shot shows two girls fighting and a number of other students cheering from the sidelines.
As the two trade insults, one girl walks away before the second girl grabs her by her lime-green backpack, hurling her to the pavement. As the girl on the ground retaliates with a kick, the second girl grabs her by her ankle and drags her a short distance before nearly straddling her and unleashing a barrage of at least eight punches to the face. As the punches connect, several people can be heard laughing.
An underage female student, who also cannot be identified, was charged with assault on Dec. 19 in connection with the fight.
Peel Const. Thomas Ruttan said earlier this month at least one of the girls "believed her safety was in jeopardy" after the video was posted.
Police said the boy's mischief charge relates to interfering with the victim's reasonable use and enjoyment of Facebook.
The incident is believed to have taken place near Dixie Road Public School while the boy was on his way home from classes.
His mother said she believes staff at Tomken Road notified police about the video, although police would not confirm that.
She claims her son received no warning from school staff before being called to the main office last month.
The mother, who said she has a long-running dispute with the school over her son's education, accused both the police and school staff of over-reacting to the incident after he was initially charged.
She said arresting her son was simply answering bullying with another form of bullying.
"As adults, rather than teaching kindness, we are teaching meanness," she added.
The boy's mother said she doesn't understand why her son is being singled out in a situation she said was unfairly escalated by administration and police.
"There were a lot of other boys in the video, standing by," she said. She says educators missed a key opportunity to instruct the group of young teenagers on why posting the video online could be harmful and why it's not acceptable to be a bystander.
"The children were not aware posting a video is a wrong thing because they think it's a common practice," she said.
Peel District School Board spokesperson Carla Pereira said a school community member brought the video to the administration's attention.
After viewing the footage, the principal called police, she said.
Police could not confirm that the boy was handcuffed during arrest.
Comments by others - 4 - to this web-page at time of posting;
DrMiddle Jan 29, 2013 3:33 PM
@Katt62 Kids go down the wrong roads for the wrong reasons
To always blame the parents is the dumbest thing any critic can do.
Tony Jackson Jan 29, 2013 2:36 PM
@Rosella
Are you giving advertisement for Facebook? You still failed to dig out the logic behind this juvenile being treated as a criminal-adult by the police.
Agree 1 Report Abuse 2
Mantis Jan 29, 2013 2:29 PM
@katt62
Why signle that boy out and require him to help? What about the other people who were there? We have no legal duty to interfere in the commission of a crime. We do, however, have the inanlienable right to free expression. This kid did not deserve to face criminal charges any more than tha millions of other adults and kids who have posted similar, often worse, videos on Youtube and other sites. This happened off school property so the school had no business getting involved and the response by the police was heavy-handed.
Agree 2 Report Abuse 1
katt62 Jan 29, 2013 1:36 PM
The mother of the boy should have taught her son to help the girl that was getting beaten up instead of filming her and posting it on FB. The mother needs to grow up and be a proper parent instead of making excuses for her son!!!!
Agree 3 Disagree 1
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