The appellant, an aboriginal offender, was convicted of sexual assault after assaulting an intoxicated and unconscious 18-year-old victim.
The sentencing judge imposed a 20-month custodial sentence, finding that deterrence and denunciation were paramount and a conditional sentence would be inappropriate, despite the offender's aboriginal status.
The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that while s. 718.2(e) requires a different methodology for assessing a fit sentence for an aboriginal offender, it does not necessarily mandate a different result.
The sentencing judge reasonably concluded that the serious nature of the offence required a custodial sentence to satisfy the objectives of denunciation and deterrence.