The Crown appealed a conditional sentence of two years less a day imposed on the respondent for sexually assaulting his stepdaughter when she was a child.
The sentencing judge had imposed the conditional sentence primarily due to the collateral consequences incarceration would have on the respondent's dependent adult son.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the sentence demonstrably unfit given the high moral culpability of the offender and the gravity of the offence.
The Court substituted a three-year custodial sentence, noting that collateral consequences cannot overwhelm other sentencing principles such as denunciation and deterrence.
