ATHABASCA — A local youth will have to abide by a list of conditions and be on good behaviour for the next 12 months after sucker punching an educator in late 2024.
In Athabasca Court of Justice, the youth attended in person with defence lawyer Spencer Hart to receive a 12-month conditional discharge for an assault on a school principal in November.
For the next year, the youth must keep the peace, appear and report to the court as needed, reside with family, remain in-province, abstain from drugs and alcohol, and seek assessment, counselling and treatment for anger management.
The conditional discharge also includes non-contact and non-attend clauses for the victim, and a no weapons clause, with exceptions for bows and arrows for archery.
A guilty plea for the assault was entered quickly after the Nov. 6 incident, which Crown prosecutor Matthew Kerr detailed for the court. RCMP responded to a report of an assault at one of the schools in the town of Athabasca, and arrived to find the principal with visible injuries to the face, bruises forming around the left eye and what was later verified as a concussion.
In an audio statement to the police, the principal recounted the assault, describing being sucker punched randomly by the student. Multiple eyewitness accounts were taken by police from others who saw the incident.
“There was also surveillance from the particular school hallway, it was very clear what happened,” said Spencer. “This was a singular punch, I have no problems with it being described as a sucker punch, but it was a singular blow.”
“By no stretch is it an excuse, but there was a verbal exchange, there’s no audio on the surveillance camera … but you can see the verbal exchange before the punch was thrown,” said Spencer. “It was an upsetting exchange and a reaction.”
The youth, who carries no previous criminal record, was expelled from school following the incident, and will be seeking to enrol in homeschooling for next September.
“There were consequences, obviously, for (their) actions. When you punch the principal, there tend to be consequences.”
Justice Gregory Rice accepted the joint submission, highlighting the importance of denunciation and deterrence when dealing with youth matters.
“I think the forefront of everything, obviously we want you to understand how serious this was, but by the same token our focus is rehabilitation,” said Rice. “This seems to be right within the range.”
“Sounds like you’re trying, so that’s good. You’ve got some family support, which is awesome. We don’t always see that, so it’s really great.”
