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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Apr 05 2016 – The fact that a 17-year-old girl who pleaded guilty to drug charges in Barbados was identified in Canadian media has raised the ire of her peers.
Four young women, including Emma Jacqueline Young, 17, a student at Toronto’s Malvern Collegiate, pleaded guilty to charges in Barbados after nearly 150 pounds of marijuana was discovered in their luggage, according to media reports.
Young, 17; Paige Amber Clark, 20; Natalie Linton, 24; and Charlette Blackman, 35, were slapped with tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
A Change.org petition expressed dismay at the media reports which reveal Young’s name, stressing she is “still a minor.”
With more than 300 signatures, the petition aims to “revoke the media’s permission to release the identity of minors being forced into the spotlight.”
Minors criminally charged within Canada cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
But Toronto criminal lawyer Edward Prutschi said those supporting the petition may be well-intentioned, but they’re out of luck.
“If you’re charged by a foreign sovereign nation abroad, that’s fair game, for better or worse,” Prutschi said.
While he questions the value of press reports revealing Young’s name, “it’s clear that legally speaking, the media is entitled to do so.”
CITY-TV reported Young is the only one released after paying a hefty fine of around $50,000.
