Failure to comply with a prohibition order (s. 161)
R. v. Ward
- On release at the time
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
Gerald Paul Ward pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching a lifetime s. 161 order prohibiting him from accessing the internet, the second committed while on a release order for the first. The Crown sought a global sentence of 21 months; the defence sought time served plus probation. Judge Bégin accepted the Crown's recommendation and imposed 21 months, less 150 days of remand credit, followed by 3 years of probation, giving primary consideration to denunciation and deterrence.
In the judge's words
1I am statutorily directed to give primary consideration to the objectives of denunciation and deterrence when sentencing individuals for sexual offenses against children. This would obviously equally apply to breaches of s.161 Prohibition Orders.
The record
- Convicted of
- Failure to comply with a prohibition order (s. 161) (CC 161(4), 2 counts)
- Prior convictions
- 5 prior convictions, 3 violent1
- At the time of the offence
- On bail1
- Defence asked for
- Time served1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: Robert Kennedy
Defence: Nic Hoehne
Sources
- R. v. Ward, 2023 NSPC 5 Court decision, CanLII, January 27, 2023
[10] The Crown is seeking a global sentence of 21-months’ imprisonment comprised of a sentence of 9-months for the May 2022 offence, and a consecutive period of 12-months for the July-October 2022 offence.
[14] Defence counsel is suggesting a sentence of time served, plus a probationary period.
[1] This is the sentencing of Gerald Paul Ward who pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to comply with a lifetime s. 161 Order prohibiting him from accessing the Internet.
[3] Mr. Ward was arrested on May 25th for the first breach, and he was released on a strict Release Order dated May 25, 2022, prohibiting his accessing the internet, which he has pleaded guilty to breaching between the period of July 1, 2022 and October 20, 2022.
[2] The first offense was between May 9 and May 18, 2022, which would have occurred less than 2 weeks after Mr. Ward’s release from jail after serving the required time of a 6-year sentence (in June 2021) for 2 counts of sexual interference, and 2 counts of making child pornography. … [7] … Mr. Ward has a criminal history of sexually abusing young children, having also been sentenced to a period of custody in Alberta in May 2019 on an Invitation for Sexual Touching charge.
[37] I am statutorily directed to give primary consideration to the objectives of denunciation and deterrence when sentencing individuals for sexual offenses against children. This would obviously equally apply to breaches of s.161 Prohibition Orders.
[54] I accept the sentencing recommendation by the Crown of a global sentence of 21 months which equals 630 days, from which will be subtracted 150 days for remand credit, for a go-forward sentence of 480 days. [55] The period of imprisonment is to be followed by a period of probation for 3 years, which is the maximum permissible.
- Criminal Code, s. 161 Record, Justice Laws Website
- R. v. Ward, 2023 NSPC 5 Court decision, Courts of Nova Scotia