Anita Verma

Following a jury conviction for sexual interference of a 14-year-old complainant, the sentencing judge imposed a three-year penitentiary sentence.

The offence involved digital penetration and attempted penile penetration of the victim by her uncle, who held a position of trust.

The Crown sought five to six years; the defence sought a conditional sentence.

The court applied the principles from R. v. Friesen regarding substantial sentences for child sexual abuse, emphasizing denunciation and deterrence as primary objectives.

The court rejected a conditional sentence as disproportionate to the gravity of the offence and the harm caused to the victim.

The accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter, discharging a firearm with intent to prevent arrest, reckless discharge of a firearm, killing a service animal, and possession of a loaded firearm.

The offences occurred over approximately 24 hours: the accused shot and killed the victim in his daughter's apartment after a physical altercation; the following day, he fired at a police officer attempting to arrest him; and subsequently shot and killed a police service dog during his apprehension.

The Crown and defence jointly submitted for a 14-year global sentence.

The court accepted the joint submission while providing detailed sentencing analysis for each offence, explaining how the principle of totality reduced what would otherwise have been a 23-year sentence.

The accused was charged with attempted murder and firearms offences following a shooting outside a party venue.

The Crown's case relied heavily on the recognition identification evidence of a police officer who identified the accused as the shooter from poor-quality surveillance videos, based on a single prior traumatic encounter.

The court admitted the officer's recognition evidence but ultimately gave it little weight due to reliability concerns, including the poor quality of the images and the lack of distinctive features.

After conducting its own comparison of the accused with the video images, the court found reasonable doubt regarding the shooter's identity and acquitted the accused on all counts.