Warning: The following contains graphic details of a sexual assault and may not be suitable for all readers.
A man found guilty of choking his estranged wife until she was unconscious and sexually assaulting her for hours is expected to be deported to the Philippines after serving jail time.
The man, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, was found guilty of choking to overcome resistance, sexual assault, assault, threatening and unlawful confinement in B.C. provincial court. A 62-month jail sentence was handed down Tuesday, Sept. 10. The crimes took place in Nanaimo in 2020 and the man was found guilty in 2023.
The man and his wife separated in early 2020 after seven years of marriage, and she began dating another person. According to court documents, when she returned to pick up some personal items at her husband's residence in April 2020, he choked her, using enough force that she lost consciousness.
"He choked her in order to render her incapable of resisting his sexual assault of her that he perpetrated to investigate sexual activity that he believed that she had participated in with [the other man] that morning," noted the sentencing decision.
Additionally, the husband choked his wife "in order to force her to confess the details of her relationship with [the other man]," according to the document, adding that he probed and examined her genitals. He also threatened to kill both himself and his wife, and she believed the threats, the court noted.
Throughout the ordeal, the woman protested and stated numerous times that she was being choked.
"She negotiated with him about not killing them both because no one would be able to care for their children, including her parents, who she said were too old to do so," the document stated.
Only after one of the man's friends intervened was the victim able to leave. She was subsequently examined by a nurse.
"These are large bruises to her neck and petechial hemorrhaging to [her] face. The remainder of the bruises observed are found on [her] arms and chest," noted information in the sentencing decision.
The severity of the assault, the fear instilled in the victim, the fact they were formerly intimately involved and the duration of the incident were among aggravating factors in the case. As far as mitigating factors, the man didn't have a previous criminal record, and has the support of other members of his family and the community. He stated he has anger management issues, which he thinks led to his actions, and "has and continues to seek assistance to address this" with counselling and programs.
While judge Sheila Archer presided over the trial and rendered a verdict, she was unable to see the case through and regional administrative judge Carmen Rogers handled sentencing.
The man bears complete responsibility for the "grave offences," the sentencing judge ruled.
"Out of anger and jealousy he chose to confine, assault, threaten, sexually assault and choke [the victim] over a six-hour period. This was not a momentary lapse of judgment. He had time to consider his actions and their consequences. His moral culpability is high," stated the judge.
