Dr. S. Woodside

The Crown applied to have the offender, S.S., declared a dangerous offender under s. 753 of the Criminal Code, seeking an indeterminate sentence, following his conviction for sexual interference.

The offender resisted, arguing he should be declared a long-term offender under s. 753.1, with a determinate sentence and a long-term supervision order.

The court declined to find the offender a dangerous offender, concluding that the Crown failed to prove a "pattern of repetitive behaviour" or "persistent aggressive behaviour" and that the conduct was "intractable" beyond a reasonable doubt.

Instead, the court found the offender to be a long-term offender, imposing a 10-year term of imprisonment and a 10-year long-term supervision order, finding a reasonable possibility of eventual risk control in the community.

The accused, a former elementary school teacher and scoutmaster, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of indecent assault against seven young male scouts committed between 1966 and 1979.

The offences involved sexual touching, masturbation, and in one case oral sex, perpetrated during cottage trips and scout activities.

The accused had previously been convicted of similar offences in 1980 and sentenced to three months concurrent custody.

The sentencing hearing addressed systemic delays in the prosecution, the profound and lasting impacts on the victims, the offender's rehabilitation over 35 years without reoffending, and the appropriate balance between denunciation and restraint in sentencing.

The Crown applied for a dangerous offender designation and indeterminate detention for the accused following guilty pleas to sexual assault causing bodily harm, choking with intent to commit an indictable offence, being masked with intent to commit an indictable offence, and unlawful confinement.

The accused had committed multiple serious sexual assaults against young women in Quebec and Ontario, as well as an attempted sexual assault in Florida.

The court found that the accused met the dangerous offender criteria under s.753 of the Criminal Code and that there was no reasonable possibility of eventual control of his risk in the community.

The court rejected the defence position that a long-term offender designation with a definite sentence followed by a long-term supervision order would be adequate, finding that the accused's personality disorder combined with sexual deviance, his lack of genuine insight into his problems, and his ambivalence toward treatment rendered community-based management insufficient to protect public safety.