Warning: This story contains details related to the sexual assault of a child and may not be appropriate for all readers.
A man found guilty of sexually assaulting his one-year-old daughter will serve two and a half years' jail time.
The man, who can't be identified due to a publication ban, stood trial in 2023 and was found guilty of sexual assault, sexual interference of a person under the age of 16 years and possessing child pornography. Defence and crown made submissions to justice Joel Groves in March, with Tim Russell, defence counsel, seeking a two-year provincial sentence and Joanna Simpson, crown counsel, seeking a six-year federal sentence.
On Thursday, May 29, Groves rendered his judgment at B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo, sentencing the man to 30 months on the sexual interference charge and six months concurrently for possession of child pornography. The sex assault charge was stayed by the crown.
With time served, the man will serve 23 months in prison.
Groves said a sentence of six years was “overly strict” based on precedent. The fundamental principle of criminal law is that sentences “must be somewhat similar, if not as close to similar as possible, for similar persons in similar circumstances who commit similar offences.”
The guilty man, who had no prior criminal record, had his head in his hands for much of this week's court proceedings and could be heard sobbing at times. Groves noted this, stating he saw this as genuine remorse and not an attempt at “faking” to gain the court’s sympathy.
“Based on [his] demeanour and the effect that he has presented during this entire court process, that he has been profoundly impacted by the effect of what he has done, I have concluded, supported by the psychiatric report before the court, that he is of low risk to re-offend and that is … a mitigating circumstance,” said Groves.
During trial, it was revealed that the man's common-law wife had found a 40-second cellphone video of the sexual assault, which didn't involve penetration. After initially denying the crime, the man apologized and had what was described to police as a mental breakdown. Police officers were not able to access the video from the phone, but a thumbnail image depicting part of what the mother described was entered into evidence.
Another piece of evidence was a pink blanket, which was seen in the video, according to the mother, and was found to have semen with a high likelihood of matching the man's DNA profile.
Against the wishes of a lawyer, the man had spoken to police and stated that he was trying to use his cellphone's light to assist in changing his daughter's diaper and accidentally recorded the video.
The defence had previously applied to have the man declared not guilty by way of mental disorder, citing a report from Dr. Rakesh Lamba, person in charge of B.C. Mental Health and Substance Use Services, which stated the man had a potential to suffer from "sexsomnia," taking part in sexual acts while sleeping, with amnesia a characteristic of diagnosis.
Groves dismissed the application, noting the man had provided specific details to police, including the use of a cellphone light.
While the sentence is more than two years, qualifying as a federal sentence, Groves recommended that time could be served at Nanaimo Correctional Centre, the local provincial facility. Ultimately the decision will be up to court officers.
The man will be required to be on the sexual offender registry for 20 years.
