Stephanie Square faces charges related to four of nine people who drowned in March 2023.
The woman arrested in August as a suspect in four of the deaths of nine people who drowned last year in an effort to smuggle humans across the Canada/U.S. border at Akwesasne was denied bail on Friday at the Montreal courthouse.
She is alleged to have made arrangements to smuggle four members of a Romanian family into the U.S.: Florin Iordache; his wife, Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache; their two-year-old daughter, Evelin; and one-year-old son, Elyen.
“Assisting immigrants in circumventing regulated points of entry and screening measures for international travellers constitutes criminal conduct that poses a significant threat to public safety. Miss Square is alleged to have ties to, and a significant role in, a criminal organization,” Royer said.
“The illegal smuggling of immigrants for profit outweighed the safety of the young Iordache family. The court can conclude there is a significant risk that Miss Square will engage in criminal behaviour if released. In fact, six months after the tragedy, she was caught smuggling another person in violation of court orders.”
The Iordache family were among the nine people who drowned on March 29, 2023. The other five people who drowned in the botched smuggling operation were Akwesasne resident Casey Oakes and a family from the western Indian state of Gujarat. They included the father, Praveenbhai Chaudhari, 50; mother, Dakshaben, 45; son, Meet, 20; and daughter, Vidhi, 23. Square is not alleged to have tried to smuggle them.
“In the present case, Miss Square has demonstrated a persistent disregard for court orders and a history of evading law enforcement while living at the same address near the Akwesasne Mohawk Reserve police station. She has frequently breached her conditions of release (in the past) and probation, driving while disqualified on a few occasions and fleeing from authorities,” the judge said. “Her behaviour continued until she was arrested on Aug. 23, 2024 on the present charges.
“Unfortunately, she cannot be trusted,” Royer said, adding that Square faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum life sentence if she is convicted.
“Her (GPS bracelet) monitoring plan is vague and would not prevent her from absconding. It would notify authorities when the bracelet was no longer in the authorized zone. The very nature of Miss Square’s alleged activities is to avoid detection by law enforcement. The proposed (release) conditions would mean she would be a boat ride from absconding because she admits to driving her mother’s boat (to get aound in Akwesasne).
“The court concludes that the (promises) offered cannot control Miss Square’s behaviour in the context of Aboriginal culture and that Aboriginal law, customs and traditions do not provide the necessary assurance that she will appear in court.”
The case will return to court in December.