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Warning: This story may contain details that are disturbing to some readers. The Regina and Area Sexual Assault Centre’s crisis line can be reached at 306-352-0434 or toll free at 1-844-952-0434.
A man was sentenced in a Regina courtroom last month for sexually abusing his step-daughter over three years.
The man is only referred to as J.S. in court documents to protect the identity of the victim.
J.S. was convicted of sexual assault and sexual interference, but because a person can’t be convicted of two offences for the same act — known as the Kienapple principle — he was given a judicial stay on the sexual assault charge.
Judge K.A. Lang wrote that the sexual interference charge was more precise and a more complete explanation of the crime in this case because it includes a recognition that the crime was committed against a child.
In his decision, Lang explained the abuse took place over three years when the victim was between the ages of nine and 11, and J.S. was between the ages of 28 and 30.
In her highly emotional testimony, the victim recalled five incidents which ranged from kissing and touching to specific, invasive sex acts. When she was asked how long each episode would last, the victim told court “every time felt like an eternity,” according to the court documents.
J.S. was her stepfather at the time and living in the same house. The judge’s decision said J.S. groomed the victim and the activity got more egregious as time went on, with him telling her to keep it their secret, and saying things like “let’s just try this once”.
The victim told court the assaults made her felt gross, disgusted with and ashamed of herself. She said she was scared of J.S, that she didn’t tell anyone because she was worried her family would break apart, and that she didn’t know what to do about it because “I was just a kid.”
The victim has been seeking counselling because of what happened.
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Crown lawyers asked for eight years in prison, while defence lawyers asked for five years.
The judge settled on eight years in prison with a series of ancillary orders like 20 years on the sex offender registry and J.S. not being allowed to work around kids or be alone with kids after he’s released.
Lang wrote in his decisions that J.S. had five prior convictions, including one for assault causing bodily harm. There was a pre-sentence report done and the judge wrote that Gladue factors were present, but that they weren’t as serious as many he’d seen and didn’t seem to outwardly affect J.S. in a significant way.
Writing about how the abuse affected the victim, the judge wrote that it still affects her long after, that she suffers from emotional breakdowns, stopped doing her hobbies, has distanced herself from others, and lost motivation for school.
“What has happened to (the victim) will likely be an emotional life sentence for her, and while she might heal from this eventually, I am certain she will never forget,” wrote the judge in his decision.
Judge Lang also reviewed several similar cases and said the facts of this case were on par or worse than all of the cases he’d summarized. The range of sentences for the cited cases was between five and 10 years.
J.S. had already spent about five months in custody at the time of sentencing — he was given credit for that time served, and will spend about seven years and four months more in prison.
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