Bullies blamed for drowning death of 6-year-old

Monday, August 13, 2007  

Three children who allegedly caused the drowning death of a six-year-old boy on the Pauingassi First Nation in Manitoba won't face charges because they are too young.

The three boys reportedly bullied Adam Keeper into taking off his clothes. Then they pushed him in Fishing Lake, according to police. He drowned because he didn't know how to swim, his father said.

The boys are between the ages of seven and nine, according to news reports. That means they can't be punished under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act, which only applies to juvenile offenders who are at least 12 years old.

"There's nothing more we can do, criminally," Sgt. Steve Colwell of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told The Winnipeg Free Press.

The incident has been reported to the Southeast Tribal Child and Family Services.

Get the Story:
Children will not be charged in six-year-old boy's death (The Globe and Mail 8/13)
Bullies push boy, 6, into lake; he drowns (The Winnipeg Free Press 8/12)
3 boys to blame for child's drowning, Manitoba police say (CBC 8/12)