Aggravated assault, Breach of recognizance (peace bond)
R. v. Desrosiers
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
Scott David Desrosiers pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, after punching a family member in the head in their home and fracturing his jaw and orbital bone, and to breaching a recognizance. The Crown and defence jointly proposed 6.5 years and agreed he should be designated a long-term offender, but differed on the length of supervision. Justice Rowe designated him a long-term offender, imposed 6.5 years plus 14 days so that Correctional Service Canada could prepare a release plan, gave 2,364 days' remand credit, and ordered 10 years of long-term supervision, citing his pattern of violence since 1989 and the need for close monitoring.
In the judge's words
1The decision on sentence is to be responsive to the overall legislative intent of the long term offender designation for the protection of the public with this protection achieved by reducing the offender’s risk through programming and treatment to facilitate the offender’s supervised reintegration into the community.
The record
- Convicted of
- Aggravated assault (CC 268)
- Breach of recognizance (peace bond) (CC 811)
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 79 months in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: Leigh-Ann Bryson, Bryson McDonald
Defence: David Hirtle, K.C., Lindsay Malloy
Sources
- R. v. Desrosiers, 2025 NSSC 214 Court decision, CanLII, May 16, 2025
[21] The joint submission to the Court was a sentence of 6.5 years for the two offences with a calculation of Summers (R. v. Summers, 2014 SCC 26) credit for the time that Mr. Desrosiers had spent incarcerated since his arrest in January 2021 to the date of the sentencing hearing.
[21] The joint submission to the Court was a sentence of 6.5 years for the two offences with a calculation of Summers (R. v. Summers, 2014 SCC 26) credit for the time that Mr. Desrosiers had spent incarcerated since his arrest in January 2021 to the date of the sentencing hearing.
[18] Upon completion of the forensic assessment, the Crown filed an application under Part XXIV of the Criminal Code for an order declaring Scott Desrosiers as a Long Term Offender
[77] The Court must consider the sentence specific to this charge at this time. The decision on sentence is to be responsive to the overall legislative intent of the long term offender designation for the protection of the public with this protection achieved by reducing the offender’s risk through programming and treatment to facilitate the offender’s supervised reintegration into the community.
[93] … a) for the breach of s. 268(2) of the Code in the amount of 6.5 years plus 14 days, to be subject to a calculation for remand credit on the basis of 1 to 1.5 days for a total of 2364 days remand credit leaving a remainder of 14 days to be served in provincial Corrections. … [94] The Court will order the determinate sentence for the offences accordingly.
- R. v. Desrosiers, 2025 NSSC 214 Court decision, Courts of Nova Scotia