Supreme Court

Summary: 47 year old accused and 46 year old complainant both operate at the level of ten year old children. Had engaged in consensual sexual activity with each other in the past. Accused plead guilty to raping her with considerable force on this occasion. Accused had acted under the influence of alcohol and obtained release pending trial. Was re-arrested and detained because he breached release condition by starting to drink. Normal sentence is between two to four years imprisonment, but Court applied Gladue case to aboriginal offender which states an offender should not be deprived of his liberty if less restrictive sanctions are appropriate. Accused already spent four months pre-trial custody. Further imprisonment in regular jail is not appropriate place for accused unless absolutely necessary. Court feels sentencing principles can be fulfilled by supervising accused as he is serving sentence in the community. Defence counsel, as officer of the court, to explain to accused as much as possible the heavy consequences of the accused breaching the conditions of his sentence.
Decision: Sentence - Conditional sentence of 2 years less a day (plus 4 months time served), to be served in Rae with conditions including abstention from alcohol, 200 hours community service, curfew, and no-contact orders
Subjects: Criminal law - Sexual offences - Sexual assault