THUNDER BAY — A Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay has sentenced a man to six years in prison for sexual offences against a minor female.
He was 21 while his victim was 13 at the time of the offences.
The man was convicted on three counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual interference with a minor.
A court order prohibits the publication of information that could identify the complainant.
She and her assailant were known to each other at the time the offences began.
The accused characterized his actions as trying to protect a vulnerable young person who had no reliable shelter during the winter.
However, the judge described him as "an irresponsible unempathetic predator" who exploited his victim's vulnerabilities.
He said the girl was traumatized by what happened to her.
"Publication bans of necessity keep these matters from the media for the most part. Nevertheless, I am of the view the community at large would be shocked and sickened to be confronted by the circumstances of this matter," Justice Bruce Fitzpatrick wrote in his reasons for sentencing.
The man's lawyer had proposed a penitentiary term of four to five years, saying his client had a difficult childhood and a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
The Crown had sought a six-year sentence, arguing that the grooming behaviour the man exhibited was an aggravating factor.
The judge agreed, and also noted the accused had not expressed remorse for the sexual acts he was convicted of.
On sentencing, he conditionally stayed the sexual assault charges but sentenced the man to six years concurrent for each of three charges of sexual interference with a person under 16.
He also ordered that he provide a DNA sample, be registered as a sex offender for life, and that he be banned him from owning or possessing any weapon for ten years.
The judge rejected the Crown's request that the man be prohibited from going to public parks or swimming areas where youths under 16 might be present, saying there was no evidence to justify such an order.
