‘Names need to be published’: Kidnapping case sparks calls to identify Windsor youth offenders

New Beginnings seen in Windsor, Ont. on Aug. 21, 2025. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

A kidnapping and extortion investigation in Windsor is fuelling a wave of public reaction online, with many calling for police to release the names of the four teens accused.

“Names need to be published, no matter what the age is. They’ve committed an adult crime,” said one commenter on the Windsor Police Service’s Facebook page.

Dozens of comments from other people echoed similar sentiments.

The post stems from an Aug. 11 incident where four Windsor teenagers are accused of forcing a man into a stolen vehicle at gunpoint, assaulting him, and holding him against his will for more than two hours.

Police said it was a case of kidnapping and extortion – and that the accused were arrested by the OPP-led repeat offender unit.

But under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the names of offenders under 18 are protected, even in cases involving violence, even if the accused have prior records.

Windsor criminal lawyer Dan Scott said he understands the demand by some in the community for the names of repeat-offender youth involved in serious investigations to be publicly released, but notes the law is clear.

“If they committed offenses up until the time they were 18, and they committed no further offenses after they were 18, it would be secret. Nobody would have access to that,” he said.

Scott, who has represented numerous youth clients, said the nature of cases is also shifting.

“Youth offenders are committing much more violent crimes. That’s just the reality of the times,” he said.

He added that even when judges do decide to hold a young offender in custody, Windsor doesn’t have the capacity to keep them here.

“I’ve had young offenders that have been remanded into custody, and they’re held in St. Catharines, Burlington, or facilities in other cities,” Scott said.

“There’s not really the facilities around here. So that’s a big problem for multiple reasons.”

For Stacey Yannacopoulos, executive director of New Beginnings Windsor-Essex, the numbers point to a deeper problem.

“We are seeing an increasing number of referrals. For the past four or five years, we’ve seen a pretty steady increase,” she said, noting that her agency worked with more than 4,000 young people last year — four times the number from two years ago.

She said the pandemic played a major role, fuelling mental health struggles, school disengagement, and social isolation.

She argued these factors are exactly why calls to release youth names miss the mark.

“All it does is increase the stigma attached to what they did, and it reduces the likelihood that they’ll ever get the rehabilitation and reintegration opportunities they need to do better,” she said.

“If the community is truly concerned, the focus should be on prevention — mentorship, safe spaces, and positive outlets — so these kids aren’t getting to the point where they’re committing violent offenses.”

2025 Windsor police-reported incidents involving youth:

• Mar. 4: A 15-year-old boy allegedly pointed a BB gun during a dispute on Grove Avenue.
• May 5: A 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbed an adult woman and a 15-year-old girl at a Tecumseh Road East home.
• May 9: A 13-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy allegedly threatened younger children with a knife and BB gun in a videotaped assault.
• June 20: A 14-year-old boy allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old at Festival Plaza, leaving him unconscious.
• July 7: A 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old boy allegedly crashed a stolen vehicle; police found a pellet rifle inside.
• July 12: A 13-year-old boy allegedly pointed a handgun at a woman in a Walkerville park.
• Aug. 11: Four male teens allegedly forced a man into a stolen car at gunpoint and with a machete, assaulted him over two hours, and tried to extort alcohol.

In a statement to CTV News, a Justice Canada spokesperson said the Youth Criminal Justice Act protects the privacy of 12 to 17-year-olds by prohibiting publication of information that would identify them and by restricting access to youth records.

“The rationale for protecting the privacy of young persons recognizes their vulnerability due to age and the need to protect them from the harmful effects of publication, so that their chances of rehabilitation are maximized,” read the federal government statement.

“This approach ultimately promotes public safety in the long-term.”

There are limited exceptions to the ban on naming youth, the government added, including cases where a young person is sentenced as an adult.