Sexual assault
R. v. R.E.T.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
- Below the Crown's ask
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
The offender was found guilty after trial of two counts of sexual assault committed in Abbotsford between 2015 and 2016 against a young complainant who lived in his home. The Crown sought two years less a day in provincial custody followed by two years of probation; the defence sought a conditional sentence. Justice MacDonald rejected a conditional sentence as inconsistent with the primacy of denunciation and deterrence, found two years less a day fit, and reduced it by three months for the offender's age and health, imposing 21 months of incarceration followed by two years of probation.
In the judge's words
1Given the seriousness of the sexual assaults and the emotional harm to the complainant by the violation of her sexual autonomy and integrity, and the other concerns I have noted, a sentence served in the community will not give sufficient weight to the primacy of deterrence and denunciation.
The record
- Convicted of
- Sexual assault (CC 271, 2 counts)
- Prior convictions
- 0 prior convictions1
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: M.R. Rygus
Defence: J.L. Currie
Sources
- R. v. R.E.T., 2022 BCSC 2297 Court decision, CanLII, December 15, 2022
[6] The Crown is asking this Court to impose a sentence of two years less a day in provincial custody, followed by a two-year probation order with a number of conditions.
[52] Mr. … comes before the Court as a 66-year-old man with no criminal history; he is a first-time offender.
[100] … Given the seriousness of the sexual assaults and the emotional harm to the complainant by the violation of her sexual autonomy and integrity, and the other concerns I have noted, a sentence served in the community will not give sufficient weight to the primacy of deterrence and denunciation.
[108] Considering the facts of this case, your background, the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and the principles of sentencing, I impose a sentence of 21 months incarceration.
- Criminal Code, s. 271 Record, Justice Laws Website
- R. v. R.E.T., 2022 BCSC 2297 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia