Sexual assault of a person under 16
R. v. A.J.D.C.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
The offender pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a 13-year-old complainant, an assault that was video recorded and shared on social media. Crown and defence jointly proposed three years of incarceration with credit for time served. Justice Chan accepted the joint submission and imposed 36 months, less 129 days of credit, giving primary consideration to denunciation and deterrence as required for offences against children.
In the judge's words
1[30] The primary sentencing objectives in this case are denunciation and deterrence. This is both mandated by s. 718.01 of the Criminal Code and reiterated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Friesen at para. 104. Rehabilitation is an important but secondary objective in this case. In this case, there needs to be a deterrent sentence to send a strong message to the community that sexual assaults against children are not to be tolerated.
The record
- Convicted of
- Sexual assault of a person under 16 (CC 271 U16)
- Prior convictions
- 0 prior convictions1
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 3 years in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: D. Wightman
Defence: R. Nielsen
Sources
- R. v. A.J.D.C., 2023 BCSC 1287 Court decision, CanLII, July 20, 2023
[29] The parties submit a joint submission of three years incarceration, with credit for time served.
[29] The parties submit a joint submission of three years incarceration, with credit for time served.
[12] This is … first conviction as an adult.
[30] The primary sentencing objectives in this case are denunciation and deterrence. This is both mandated by s. 718.01 of the Criminal Code and reiterated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Friesen at para. 104. Rehabilitation is an important but secondary objective in this case. In this case, there needs to be a deterrent sentence to send a strong message to the community that sexual assaults against children are not to be tolerated.
[34] I sentence you to 36 months incarceration for sexual assault. [35] From this 36 months, which equals 1095 days, you will have credit for 129 days.
- R. v. A.J.D.C., 2023 BCSC 1287 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia