The accused, R.N., pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference involving his 13-year-old step-granddaughter, A.B. The incidents occurred five times over a three-month period in the victim's home, involving digital penetration and touching of breasts.
The Crown sought a four-year penitentiary sentence, while the defence sought a reformatory sentence of two years less a day.
The court considered the profound impact on the victim, the high breach of trust, and the principles of sentencing, particularly denunciation and deterrence as emphasized by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Friesen.
Despite the offender's intellectual delay, remorse, and low risk of reoffending, the court imposed a sentence of two years less one day imprisonment, followed by three years of probation with specific conditions, a 10-year weapons prohibition, and a 20-year SOIRA order, aligning with the defence's request for the length of incarceration.
