JUDGE REQUESTS FAS SOLUTION

Young Offender Diagnosed With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome At Centre Of
Debate

A 12-year-old Saskatoon girl who broke into a house full of sleeping
people and set a series of fires is now at the centre of a debate over
how the courts deal with youth diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome
(FAS).

On Thursday, provincial court Judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond postponed
sentencing of the youth until January because it's not clear what - if
any - kind of treatment is available for young offenders with FAS in
Saskatchewan.

In delaying sentencing, Turpel-Lafond questioned Crown and defence
counsel about what type of FAS programming is available in custody
"for a 12-year-old girl with her first set of offences.

"What is an appropriate strategy for this young person?"

Turpel-Lafond instructed the court to arrange for Social Services to
supply an expert to speak to the availability of programming.

The girl was diagnosed with FAS when she was three years old. The
condition is caused by exposure to alcohol during pregnancy and
studies suggest that as many as half the youth in custody suffer from
it. The effects range from profound mental impairment to deficits in
judgment and reasoning.

The Crown is recommending the girl serve one year in closed custody,
followed by six months in open custody and a year of probation. Crown
prosecutor Val Adamko said public safety is a serious concern because
of the girl's admitted role as instigator in a series of fires this
past fall in the city.

Defence lawyer Grant Crookshanks said youth cannot get appropriate
treatment for FAS in custody anywhere in the province. He said that
constructing a network of supports in the community is the most
effective way to change her behaviour.

The negative social influences she could encounter in jail "are not as
concentrated" in the community, he added.

Adamko said the girl can get programming in closed custody. The issue
is whether she can apply what she's learned to situations on the
outside, "and that's where we differ."

The youth pleaded guilty to arson, along with another 12-year-old girl
and a 16-year-old girl, in connection with a wave of garbage bin and
house fires on the city's west side this fall. They faced a combined
total of 51 charges.

The teenager has already been sentenced to one year in secure custody
and six months open. The other 12-year-old has been sentenced to three
months secure custody and six months open.

In the most serious incident, the three broke into a house full of
sleeping people and set fires. They then called 911 and assisted
firefighters in evacuating eight people from the multi-unit dwelling,
including a man in a wheelchair.

As firefighters worked on the blaze, which caused more than $100,000
in damage, the three girls told emergency staff how they awakened and
then helped evacuate residents from the suites.

Investigators became suspicious because their names were familiar from
an ongoing arson investigation.