A 15-year-old involved in torturing Kathie Lee Bennet last September was handed a two-year youth sentence yesterday.
The youth sentence, which is the longest she could have received without being sentenced as an adult, means she may become the first in Canada to qualify for $200,000 in intensive therapy, tutoring, recreation and family counselling, paid for by the federal government.
Halifax youth court Judge Pam Williams sentenced the girl yesterday to 16 months in the Waterville youth jail, along with another eight months in the community, for aggravated assault. She gave the girl no credit for the eight months she’s served while awaiting her sentence.
Crown attorney John Nisbet unsuccessfully argued an adult sentence would give the teen more time behind bars and allow her to mature.
The teen’s lawyer, Megan Longley, said yesterday the girl can now apply for a federal government program that offers $275 a day for private counselling.
The teen was one of three girls who beat, kicked and burned Bennet with cigarettes for more than an hour behind a Dartmouth school Sept. 20, 2007. She had a broken eye socket and nose, and needed surgery.
In March, Brittany McNeil, 18, was sentenced to six years for her role in the assault. Another teen is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
