Several people gathered outside a courthouse on Jarvis Street today to protest the judge who granted custody of Katelynn Sampson to the woman accused in her murder. Bernice Sampson, Katelynn's biological mother, was among the protesters.
NDP MPP Peter Kormos says a complaint has been filed against the Ontario judge. He says he's asked the Judicial Council, which probes complaints against provincially appointed judges, to look into the judge's conduct. He says Katelynn was put at risk unnecessarily.
Irving was named Katelynn's legal guardian earlier this year with a handwritten custody agreement, but critics are upset because they say the court did not look into the 29-year-old's past, which included charges for violent crimes. Custody can be awarded to people with criminal records, according to the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies.
Sampson had been friends with Donna Irving, 29, for 10 years, and put her daughter in Irving's care since January while she sorted out her personal problems, which included problems with drugs, the CBC reports.
Katelynn was found dead in Irving's house after a woman called 911 on August 3, claiming the girl had stopped breathing after choking on food, police say.
Police have charged Irving, and her common-law partner Warren Johnson, 46, with the second-degree murder of the seven-year-old girl.
A memorial was held for Katelynn yesterday in a play area next to the Parkdale Community Centre.
