2 total
Repeated child sexual abuse by a caregiver warranted nine months' jail.
The court sentenced an offender convicted after trial of sexual interference against a 13-year-old boy, with a related sexual assault count conditionally stayed under the Kienapple principle.
The offending involved repeated genital touching by an adult caregiver living in the same household and occupying a position of trust and authority.
The court treated repetition and breach of trust as aggravating factors, and the offender's traumatic background, medical issues, and family caregiving role as mitigating factors.
Emphasizing denunciation and deterrence under s. 718.01 of the Criminal Code, the court fixed a custodial range of 9 to 15 months and imposed a sentence at the low end with probation and ancillary orders.
Mixed verdicts followed differing credibility findings on two complainants’ evidence.
Criminal trial concerning multiple historical sexual offence allegations involving two child complainants and a former partner of their mother.
The court reviewed the law governing assessment of child witness evidence and the criminal standard of proof, emphasizing that corroboration was not required and that each complainant's allegations had to be assessed independently.
The court found one complainant's evidence credible, reliable, detailed, and unshaken in cross-examination, proving sexual interference and sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.
The other complainant's evidence raised reasonable doubt because of material inconsistencies, omissions, uncertainty, and vagueness, resulting in acquittals on those counts.
