M. McLean

Sentencing for repeated child sexual offences committed over years against the complainant in a trusted caregiver context.

The court treated denunciation and deterrence as the predominant sentencing principles, while also considering totality, proportionality, rehabilitation prospects, and the offender's lack of prior record.

Aggravating features included escalating sexual conduct, breach of trust, vaginal intercourse, the complainant's pregnancy and abortion, and the complainant's ongoing emotional harm.

A global penitentiary sentence of nine years was imposed together with ancillary no-contact, child-protection, DNA, weapons prohibition, and sexual offender registry orders.

The appellant appealed summary conviction findings of guilt on two sexual assault counts arising from allegations that, during otherwise consensual sexual activity, he struck the complainant without consent.

He argued that the trial judge impermissibly bolstered credibility by referring to the absence of embellishment, misstated and misapplied the W.(D.) framework, and admitted prior-incident evidence amounting to presumptively inadmissible bad character evidence.

The appeal court held that, although parts of the reasons were imperfect and included troublesome language, the reasons read as a whole showed the trial judge understood and applied the proper burden of proof, made credibility findings open on the record, and did not engage in propensity reasoning.

The appeal was dismissed.