Three boys set fire to 11-year-old girl

By Adam Clayton
CBC News

This week I plan to sort out a puzzle that I have wondered about. Why didn't all of the Indians join the fight in the Indian Wars of the 1850s?

A northern Manitoba girl was seriously burned when a group of boys held her down, doused her with mosquito repellent and set her on fire.

The incident occurred Sept. 30 at Chemawawin First Nation near Easterville, about 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve Saunders said three boys under the age of 13 were taking turns spraying themselves and each other with bug spray and lighting it.

When an 11-year-old girl walked by, the boys called her over. Saunders said she tried to flee but was restrained by the other kids.

The boys tried to spray her with mosquito repellent and at one point the top of the bottle came off. She was doused with the liquid and set on fire with a lighter.

The girl remained in stable condition at Children's Hospital in Winnipeg yesterday after suffering serious burns to her face, neck and one shoulder.

Saunders would not speculate on whether the boys intended to seriously harm the girl.

ONE CHARGED

"When they were playing the game amongst themselves, they were spraying it," he said.

"But when they held the girl down, the contents of the bottle were poured on to the girl and then it was set on fire. The intent? That's up to a court to decide."

A 12-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and mischief endangering life in connection with the incident. He was released to the custody of his parents and is set to appear in court in Easterville on Nov. 29.

Two 11-year-old boys are too young to be charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Both have been referred to a local justice committee and child-welfare authorities.

Chemawawin Chief Clarence Easter said yesterday the girl is healing from recent surgery.

Easter said his main concern is the recovery of the girl. However, he said the community has to deal with the offenders as well as the victim. "We're not exactly sure what we're going to do," he said, noting one of the boys is facing serious criminal charges.

"The other two, they can't be charged, but we still have to deal with them. The justice system doesn't go far enough to deal with those kinds of things."

Another case of children harming another child took place in Winnipeg on Saturday. City police have identified seven kids under the age of 12 they believe were responsible for locking Brian McKay, 14, in a shed and lighting it on fire. The boy was treated and released for smoke inhalation.