Street gang associates paraded a city teen around to different Winnipeg lawyers' offices in hopes of her signing a sworn statement falsely pinning the blame for operating a crack house solely on her shoulders, a Manitoba judge has heard. The 16-year-old's case sheds a grim light on the brazen lengths gangs appear willing to go to manipulate kids into doing their dirty work and taking the fall — largely due to the lighter sanctions youth between 12-17 years old face under Canada's youth justice laws. The girl was sentenced to two years of supervised probation in front of Judge Lynn Stannard last week after pleading guilty to two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. She was busted in January after Winnipeg street crime cops raided two street gang-linked West Broadway-area crack houses and caught her selling drugs outside one of them. She was bailed out but busted on new charges in April and held in custody. Defence lawyer Stacey Soldier told Stannard the teen's "friends" recently took her around to different city law offices in a shady, but failed, bid to relieve ranking gang members of any wrongdoing. "They're essentially trying to get her to take responsibility for running a crack house. Clearly that's not the case. She's 16 years of age," she said. "She's being used, I don't think she gets that," Crown attorney Victoria Cornick told court, adding the moment she's an adult the gang would likely abandon her if caught and prosecuted. "The second she goes to (prison), they're going to find another 16-year-old girl to sell crack for them," she said. Stannard harangued the teen about her associations and said her situation was a testament to how much actual loyalty she could expect from the gang in the long run. "Think about it," Stanndard said. "It's rats leading a sinking ship — that's what they are. They're all going to end up in jail at some point in time, they're losers," Stannard said. "Nobody cares. They're your buds when they want something," she added. Court heard the girl comes from a background of supportive "sober good people" who despite considerable adversity have led upstanding lives. The girl fell in with the bad crowd and substance abuse, Soldier said. "You have family that cares about you," Stannard told the teen. "Those people don't."
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