Sentencing decision following guilty pleas to sexual interference and making sexually explicit material available to a child, arising from repeated sexual abuse by a stepfather of a child between ages 10 and 13 over a period of years.
After a Gardiner hearing, the court found additional aggravating facts proven beyond a reasonable doubt, including anal penetration on two occasions and grooming statements normalizing sexual attraction between stepdaughter and stepfather.
Applying the guidance in Friesen and the statutory sentencing principles in the Criminal Code, the court emphasized denunciation and deterrence, particularly given the abuse of trust, repeated abuse, the victim's age, and the significant harm caused.
A penitentiary sentence of six years was imposed on the sexual interference count, with three years concurrent on the child pornography-facilitation count, together with DNA, SOIRA, prohibition, no-contact, and weapons orders.
