‘I’m so ashamed of myself,’ teen tells courtroom
The pair responsible for the multimillion-dollar Canada Games Centre (CGC) fire ran by three fire alarms and multiple adults after starting the blaze and later lied to Whitehorse RCMP.
Photo by Whitehorse Star
EXPENSIVE ARSON – Acrid smoke permeates the air as Whitehorse firefighters battle the deliberately-set blaze at the Canada Games Centre on the evening of June 24, 2011. The damage bill exceeds $5 million.
The pair responsible for the multimillion-dollar Canada Games Centre (CGC) fire ran by three fire alarms and multiple adults after starting the blaze and later lied to Whitehorse RCMP.
Those revelations formed some of the evidence presented Wednesday afternoon at a sentencing hearing for one of the girls.
The 13-year-old, whose name cannot be published under the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared before territorial court Judge Michael Cozens.
After listening to more than two hours of evidence and arguments, the judge opted to reserve his decision on her sentence until early February.
Both the teen and her 12-year-old co-accused have pleaded guilty to lighting speed skating mats on fire on June 24, 2011.
The blaze forced the centre to be shut down for months and caused more than $5 million worth of damage.
Crown prosecutor Bonnie Macdonald told the court that the two accused went to the ATCO arena that evening with an 11-year-old boy, who has not been charged in the case.
Using lighters, both girls lit the handles of speed skating mats, court heard.
When they looked back, one third of the mats were ablaze, Macdonald said.
By the time CGC staff were alerted, the flames were 13 or 14 feet high —much too large to contain with hand-held fire extinguishers.
Fire crews almost immediately believed the blaze was caused by arson, but did not initially suspect the girls, Macdonald said.
In fact, the trio was first interviewed by police that evening as possible witnesses to what had happened.
It was then that the girls concocted a lie about seeing a First Nations woman running from the scene.
According to a statement by the young boy, the 13-year-old threatened to punch him if he told the truth.
The court was also shown copies of text messages between the two girls following the fire, agreeing to continue with that story.
However, when police were able to view footage from surveillance cameras the next day, the lie was uncovered.
After being arrested, the teen admitted to lighting the mats, telling police she was concerned her friend would think she was a wimp.
She insisted it was initially the younger girl’s idea.
This contradicts the statement to police from the 11-year-old boy who said it was the older girl’s idea.
The second girl has yet to appear in court to tell her side of the story, her sentencing hearing was postponed earlier this month.
Most of the repairs to the centre have been covered by insurance.
The Crown is asking for a two-year sentence for the teen, which would include part probation and part house arrest.
Under Canadian law, the maximum amount of time a youth can spend under house arrest is six months.
Macdonald argued that a stricter sentence is warranted because of the amount of damage done; the fact that the pair attempted to pass the blame on to someone else; and the fact they had multiple opportunities to report the blaze before it grew so large.
The girl’s lawyer, Gord Coffin, said that punishment would not be appropriate. He pointed out that his client has no previous criminal record and has followed all of the court orders placed on her since she was arrested.
Coffin said the girl panicked after what happened, which shows her level of immaturity.
The teen sat quietly for most of the hearing. She only spoke when the judge asked her what she thought of the situation.
“I’m so ashamed of myself,” she said through tears, adding, “I don’t know how to explain how I’m feeling.”
The judge said he hoped she has told all her friends how ashamed she is and corrected anyone who said they thought it was a fun or cool thing to do.
“I can’t think of anyone I know who hasn’t been affected by this,” he said.
“I know you didn’t intend to cause that much harm. I think it’s really important that you make sure people know it’s not cool and how ashamed you’re feeling.”
The teen later read a letter in which she apologized to the community. Those people included local residents who missed out on using the facility during the prolonged cleanup and repairs period; CGC staff and the contractors hired to clean up the destruction she and her co-accused left behind.
“I completely understand why people would be angry with me,” she said.
“I have shamed myself and my family. I hope the community will be able to forgive me some day.”
karen
Jan 26, 2012 at 4:34 pm
You girls should also apologize to First Nations woman too. The best place to apologize is at the CYFN General Assembly.