More than anything else in this world, Carson Crimeni wanted to make friends and fit in. He’d never been invited to a classmate’s birthday party; he’d never been on a sleepover. The hyperactivity and impulsiveness brought on by his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder made him a target. He didn’t tell his family, but in the past year, his peers say, the 14-year-old was bullied relentlessly – kicked at, hit and mocked by classmates.
Early in the past school year, a girl his age started a rumour that he’d wet his pants in class. That spread like wildfire. He was christened “Crackhead Carson” – so named because he had trouble sitting still. That’s all anyone ever called him, say students from Walnut Grove Secondary School, where Carson had just finished Grade 8.
…
When Vancouver criminal lawyer Kyla Lee was growing up, Reena Virk was lured to a waterfront park north of Victoria, where the 14-year-old was beaten and left to die by a group of teens. Ms. Lee says she believes Carson’s story is the postmillennial generation’s equivalent: “Find a child, get them completely intoxicated on drugs, film them, then leave them to die.” Those with Carson saw him as “entertainment,” she adds, not a human in need of help.
Ms. Lee, who has viewed several videos from the night, says the people who filmed Carson could be charged with criminal negligence causing death. The act of filming is enough to show criminal disregard for the life of the child “in obvious distress,” she says. The power imbalance is aggravated by a stark age difference, she adds.
To read the full article, click here.