Duncan’s Kyle Mockford wants the paltry amount of $1,350 he is still owed by the man who brutally attacked him outside a Victoria nightclub in December, 2012, leaving him with brain damage and changing his life forever.
Mockford said receiving the small amount of money, which his attacker was ordered to pay in restitution by the courts, won’t do much to help him deal with the ongoing insomnia, anxiety, depression and PTSD that have plagued him since the assault 12 years ago, but it’s the principle of the matter that counts after receiving just $250 of the meagre $1,570 the perpetrator was ordered to pay.
He said there was an opportunity to sue his attacker for the rest of the money he is owed, but there is a two-year statute of limitations to do that, which is long past, and nobody told him about it at the time.
"I feel Crown counsel could have done a better job at following up with me back then,” Mockford said.
He said he feels the judicial system had not taken the act of violence against him as seriously as it should have at the time, and his attacker faced hardly any consequences as a result.
“This has been very frustrating for me over the years, and I feel that I’ve been screwed over by the system,” Mockford said.
“The judge took it too lightly and that’s why the financial consequences were so low for the attacker, who still lives and works in this area. He hasn’t even been forced to pay me the full restitution he was ordered to and is facing no consequences for not doing so.”
Mockford, now 34, was leading a normal and productive life, and was healthy, happy, had a lot of friends and was deeply involved in the community before the attack occurred.
He was with some friends at a nightclub in 2012 when he was savagely attacked from behind shortly after they left the establishment.
Mockford was struck up to 20 times in the head before collapsing unconscious to the ground.
The next thing he knew he was in a hospital with a severely swollen and bruised face going in and out of consciousness with extremely painful headaches, and he vomited constantly for several days.
After testing, Mockford was told that the assault had left him with a subdural hematoma in his brain. This is when blood forms on the surface of the brain and presses against it, which can be a life-threatening condition.
Mockford said he began experiencing serious bouts of depression, anxiety, compulsive-aggressive behaviours and PTSD, all of which got progressively worse after the attack.
He had to drop out of university and lost his job, and his condition also severely impacted his relationships with family and friends.
After 12 years, Mockford still has many health issues related to the attack, but he is doing his best to deal with them and lives the best life he can.
But he’ll never forget that his attacker was just given what he says was a slap on the wrist by the justice system, and he feels he should have received jail time and been ordered to pay him tens of thousands of dollars in restitution for the damage that was done to him, and the courts should have ensured that he pay it.
“I’ve had to pay thousands of dollars over the years for therapy and other medical expenses that he should have been forced to cover,” Mockford said.
“I’m a victim who has been betrayed by the legal system, which should have stood up for me. There should be more severe consequences for acts of violence like this. For me, trying to deal with this is like opening up a snake pit. I really don’t want to go back there, but I fell through the cracks and it really bothers me that this has never been cleaned up legally.”
A statement from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said the courts determine if an individual is placed under community supervision and the conditions they must follow, which can include paying restitution.
The statement said that if an individual fails to adhere to their court-ordered conditions while under community supervision, BC Corrections may file a breach report to inform the courts of non-compliance, after which the courts are responsible to determine how to manage enforcement.
“The Restitution Program provides information and assistance to clients with unpaid restitution orders,” the ministry said.
“In eligible cases, the program also facilitates restitution payments, so that victims may receive payments without any contact from the offender. The process for enforcing restitution orders varies depending on the type of restitution order. Victims may contact the Restitution Program at 1-844-660-4898 or Restitution@gov.bc.ca if they have questions about a restitution order and what options are available to them. In situations where an offender does not complete restitution payments, victims may be able to enforce their restitution order in civil court."
The statement did not address the time limits on enforcing restitution.
