The largest youth jail in Ontario is routinely strip searching children: ‘A systemic violation’
The largest youth detention centre in Ontario is still routinely strip searching boys in their custody, the Star has learned.
Jan. 28, 2026
By Jennifer PagliaroCrime Reporter
The largest youth detention centre in Ontario is still routinely strip searching boys in their custody, the Star has learned, despite a court ruling declaring them unconstitutional.
The revelation was made earlier this month in a Newmarket courtroom, where a 17-year-old boy, charged in an alleged carjacking incident, is now at the centre of the latest public case to see a young person challenging that treatment in custody. The boy was stripped completely naked three times in a single day at the Roy McMurtry Youth Centre.
Three staff from the Brampton jail testified in a pretrial hearing earlier this month, according to a transcript obtained by the Star, that not only was this type of search standard procedure for the time, but since new provincial regulations were put in place this past summer, youth continue to be subjected to routine strip searches without any specific suspicion that the youth is concealing contraband, like drugs or weapons.
That appeared to shock a veteran criminal defence lawyer, Leora Shemesh, who is representing the young person.
“What I didn’t envision, and I’ll be quite frank with the Court, was that there is — there continues to be, at least my understanding of the new regulations and the new law — a systemic violation that is currently ongoing,” she said in court.
It follows a Superior Court ruling in May 2025 in the so-called girl swarm case that both being subjected to routine strip searches and being made to strip completely naked in provincial custody was unconstitutional and stating that the law authorizing it was unreasonable.
“Strip searches should be recognized as exceptional and consequential, not routine,” Justice Philip Campbell wrote. “This is especially true when they are performed on young persons who, because of their circumstances, are extremely vulnerable.”
Routine strip searches of girls in provincial custody ruled unconstitutional by Superior court judge
Youth detention is the responsibility of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services in Ontario. The province directly operates five jails, including the Roy, but the majority of young people in custody are held in what are called “transfer payment” facilities run by organizations contracted by the government.
In July, the province updated the regulations to “clearly define rules and procedures for searches of staff and visitors and youth in these facilities,” an unnamed ministry spokesperson said in an emailed statement in response to the Star’s questions for this story.
The statement also said that the ministry is installing X-ray body scanners, a less intrusive search method, as a pilot project in two youth facilities, including the Roy, with plans to have them operational “in the coming months.”
The ministry said it is unable to provide further details on matters before the court.
Boys strip searched even after being in police custody
The workers at the Roy took the stand Jan. 6 to answer questions about the treatment of the boy accused in the carjacking incident after he filed a motion saying his charter rights had been violated. The Crown attorney assigned to the case has conceded that the teen’s right to not be subject to unreasonable search and seizure was violated. The boy cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Neither the challenge or the charges against him have been resolved.
During the workers’ testimony the court also heard about how the jail is still performing routine searches under the new regulations, with some modifications.
The new rules continue to permit strip searching under certain circumstances but say youth should not be completely undressed at any time. The updated procedures require the head of a facility to authorize a search when less intrusive methods “would not be effective at locating contraband or is not operationally feasible” or if the person in charge “believes on reasonable grounds that the young person is carrying contraband.” The facility must also record the less intrusive search methods that were “used or contemplated” and a description of the reasonable grounds that led to the search.
In one exchange, Shemesh challenged longtime youth service worker Steven Bowes about these ongoing searches.
“As far as searching everyone for quote-unquote, contraband, there doesn’t have to be grounds for it. It’s just a standard policy. That’s how it was when you learned about it in 1997. That’s how it is now,” Shemesh said.
“There’s rules surrounding it,” Bowes replied. “That’s why you read the local operating policies and procedures, so you make sure you’re following the policy.”
“Right. But that’s what I’m asking you. So when someone comes back from court … it doesn’t matter if you think they may or may not have contraband, they’re being searched.”
“Correct.”
She pressed him further: “So when you say the grounds, there’s no real grounds. It’s just policy. The policy is, they’re going to be searched — strip searched.”
“Fair. Yes.”
Bowes also confirmed that boys are also still searched when being admitted to the facility, even if they are coming from police custody.
Shemesh later questioned Charlene Tardiel, the youth centre administrator at the Roy who said she was responsible for oversight of how the jail operates in accordance with ministry policies and legislation. She confirmed the ongoing practice.
“You believe there are still routine searches being conducted at the Roy as we sit here today?” Shemesh asked.
“Yes,” Tardiel replied.
The Roy staff testified that the teen in the carjacking case was made to strip down as an officer searched each piece of clothing, told to expose his genitals, lift them up and then turn around and bend over before he was allowed to redress.
That, the court heard, was part of the Roy’s standard practice prior to July 2025. All three staff who testified acknowledged that the new regulations now prevent total nudity and said their practice has changed.
“So if (my client) was to go back to Roy McMurtry right now, leave court, go with you back to Roy McMurtry, he’d be strip searched?” Shemesh asked Bowes.
“Correct.”
“And the only difference would be, you’d make sure he was wearing his T-shirt when you looked at his penis and genitals and rectum?”
“Correct and that’s following the policy.”
Strip searches challenged in girl swarm case
The issue of routine strip searching in Ontario youth detention facilities became a central issue in the girl swarm case after the practice was discovered during one of the girls’ bail hearings. It led to two separate charter challenges in both the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice, ultimately leading to a reduction in sentences for each of the eight girls who were involved in the 2022 swarming death of Kenneth Lee.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
In his decision, Justice Campbell put the ministry and youth detention facilities on notice, saying a “constitutionally compliant strip search” going forward would involve “articulating to a manager information that gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that a detained youth possesses contraband, or that a strip search is otherwise necessary, and securing the manager’s approval.”
Routine strip searching is also being challenged in civil court with a yet-to-be certified class action filed on behalf of young people who have undergone similar treatment.
As part of that case, a legal team from Sotos LLP that is representing the youth plaintiffs submitted expert evidence about the effectiveness and psychological impact of strip searches.
Kelly Hannah-Moffat, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto, wrote in an affidavit that the new regulations “do not adequately address the core concerns surrounding routine strip searches, nor do they offer sufficient protection for youth against unwarranted or unnecessary intrusions.”
“Without a clear ban or stronger safeguards, the practice of routine strip searches is likely to persist under the guise of operational necessity or vague justifications such as ‘risk’ or feasibility,’” she wrote.
Further, she said strip searches “can inflict significant psychological harm and directly undermine the rehabilitative objectives of youth custody.”
“Despite this, institutions typically justify strip searches on the grounds of safety and security, claiming they are necessary to prevent the smuggling of contraband (e.g., weapons or drugs) and to protect detainees, staff, and visitors. However, there is no clear evidence that strip searches are effective in achieving these goals.”