Man gets two years for sexual assault against child
Five-year-old niece infected with syphilis during attack
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, November 16, 2015
NUNAVUT
An Iqaluit man who infected his five-year-old niece with syphilis while attempting to rape her will serve less than two years in jail.
"This five-year-old child's inability to defend herself, and lack of sophistication, leaves her very vulnerable to exploitation by adults," wrote Justice Robert Kilpatrick in handing down a sentence of two years less a day, meaning the offender will avoid time in a federal penitentiary. The 20-year-old offender was sentenced in Nunavut Court of Justice, Oct. 27.
The man was homeless during the sexual assault, living in his brother's house in Iqaluit. On Oct. 19, 2013 he was asked to babysit his niece. That night, he took the child to a bedroom, removed her clothing, put on a condom and sexually assaulted her.
When the child's mother returned home, she discovered the girl had been injured and the child was taken to the hospital where – even though the offender wore protection – the girl tested positive for syphilis, a sexually transmitted and potentially life-threatening infection. Child protection authorities became involved, along with RCMP.
Two months later, the perpetrator was treated for syphilis and admitted his crime to police.
"The potential for long-term psychological harm to a child victim elevates this type of offence's seriousness in the eyes of the law," wrote Kilpatrick in his judgment, noting the man was sober during the offence and knew what he was doing.
"To violate the sexual integrity of a child where there is a duty to protect can only be regarded as a profound breach of a trust that the law regards as sacred. An exemplary and denunciatory sentence becomes necessary to reinforce and repair the fundamental social values that have been undermined by this breach of trust."
A publication ban forbids releasing any information that could identify the victim.
Kilpatrick painted a picture of the perpetrator as a generally good person with a troubled history. He is a Grade 12 graduate with a "solid history" of employment with hotels, restaurants, construction companies, gas stations and a security company.
Kilpatrick wrote the man "has done remarkably well despite a disadvantaged background."
The perpetrator was custom adopted at birth. At only a few years old, his parents separated and he was put into foster care, where he remained until he was 10.
Offender watched man get shot as child
While in care, he was taken hostage for some hours by a knife-wielding man inside the foster home, which resulted in a standoff with police. When the armed intruder attempted to leave the home with the accused, he was shot and killed by police in front of him.
There is suspicion he suffers from some form of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
"The court is required to factor into its analysis systemic factors that have led aboriginal citizens in this country to become marginalized, disadvantaged, and over-represented in the criminal justice system's prisons," stated Kilpatrick.
This troubled background must be taken into account in the final sentence, wrote Kilpatrick.
Mitigating factors included his guilty plea, signs of genuine remorse and involvement in programming while in detention.
Sentenced to 969 days of custody in total
The man was sentenced to 969 days of custody in total, from which 240 days of detention in remand was deducted, leaving the offender with the two-years-less-a-day number of days in jail to serve. The perpetrator also faces three years of probation.
The man must take sex offender, anger management and trauma counselling if directed to do so by his probation officer. He will also be registered as a sex offender with the national DNA databank and must stay away from the victim and children under 14.
