J. Danto-Clancy

Sentencing for multiple offences arising from a sustained episode of intimate partner violence involving repeated assaults, choking, threats to kill, forcible confinement, and mischief.

The court treated the intimate partner context, repeated strangulation, prolonged controlling conduct across multiple locations, and significant harm to the victim and her family, including children exposed to the violence, as serious aggravating factors.

Although the offender was a first offender with employment, family support, counselling efforts, and some evidence of remorse, the court held that a conditional sentence would be inconsistent with the principles in ss. 718 to 718.2 of the Criminal Code.

A mid-to-high reformatory sentence of 15 months' custody followed by three years' probation, together with DNA, weapons prohibition, and non-communication orders, was imposed.

Following a judge-alone criminal trial on a twenty-count information arising from an alleged intimate partner violence episode over a single evening and early morning, the court applied the W(D.) framework and the reasonable doubt standard to sharply conflicting testimony.

The court accepted the complainant’s evidence where it was corroborated by independent eyewitness testimony, surveillance videos, audio recordings, and injury photographs, and rejected much of the accused’s evidence as evasive, inconsistent, and untruthful.

The Crown proved multiple counts of assault, assault by choking, uttering threats, forcible seizure, and mischief, including incidents in a park, a parking garage, an Uber ride, a bar, and at a residence.

Several counts, including some threat, assault, and theft allegations, were dismissed where the evidence did not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.