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Michael Jackson walked out of the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan on Friday a free man, though with a few conditions attached.
Jackson was convicted in April this year of abducting his young daughter in contravention of a custody order. Jackson had her for a visit in November 2021 and chose not to give her back to her mother, saying he wanted to protect her from the COVID-19 vaccine, which her mother had planned to have her get.
Jackson was arrested in February 2022 in B.C. after he used a cellphone police were able to track, and the girl was brought back to her mother.
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“I wholly accept that Mr. Jackson loves (his daughter) and that (she) was not at risk of physical harm. Nonetheless, Mr. Jackson tore (her) away from all that she knew in her everyday life — her mother, her home, her friends, her school for three and a half months,” said Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown in court.
The small courtroom was full of media and some apparent supporters of Jackson to hear the sentence. Jackson sat quietly listening in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.
Michael Jackson represented himself in court proceedings. (Saskatchewan RCMP/submitted)
In giving her sentence, MacMillan-Brown described the facts of the case and talked about the mother’s victim impact statement which said that she’d said she nearly lost her mind as a mother when she didn’t know where her daughter was or if and when she would see her again.
When it comes to such cases related to family law, the justice said the offenders are often law-abiding otherwise and often don’t need a lot of rehabilitation. On the other hand, she said, “child abduction is a horrible crime that causes enormous damage to all of the victims.”
MacMillan-Brown discussed the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case — things like Jackson not taking his daughter out of the country, but that taking his daughter was a planned and deliberate action instead of a spontaneous one.
The justice also said Jackson took deliberate steps to make sure the girl’s mother and police didn’t know where they were, and when her mother swore an affidavit saying she wouldn’t vaccinate the girl he still didn’t bring her back.
Jackson was ultimately sentenced to one year in jail, two years probation and 100 hours of community service. His conditions while on probation include not contacting his daughter or her mother without the express written permission of the court.
However, Jackson had 531 days of enhanced credit for the time he spent in remand custody, so he didn’t have to spend any more time behind bars.
The Crown had asked for two years in prison and three years probation.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar said the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence were fulfilled in the Jackson case. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)
Outside court, Senior Crown Prosecutor Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar said she was deeply appreciative of the court.
“The judge obviously took the law and all the facts under very careful consideration and she laid out a very well-written and well-reasoned decision which really spoke to all of the factors at play in this particular case — the background, the mitigating and aggravating factors, and a deep consideration of the law across Canada,” she said.
Kim-Zeggelaar said the judge’s wording was unequivocal and pointed, and that she really focused on denunciation and deterrence.
“As the court pointed out, unlike certain other types of offences, these do typically arise out of cases where the person has little to no involvement with the criminal justice system,” she explained.
“So these cases are intended to send that message, to say that court orders in family law must be obeyed, and her words were unequivocal to that effect.”
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