Court of Appeal for Ontario
Date: 2002-01-29 Docket: C36357
Re: Her Majesty the Queen (Respondent) –and– Charles Russell Pine (Appellant)
Before: Finlayson, Carthy and Weiler JJ.A.
Counsel: Paul Burstein, for the appellant James K. Stewart, for the respondent
Heard: January 18, 2002
Released Orally: January 18, 2002
On appeal from the conviction imposed by Justice Gladys I. Pardu dated March 7, 2001 and from the sentence imposed by Justice Pardu dated April 20, 2001.
Endorsement
[1] The appellant was convicted after a trial of sexual assault under s. 271 of the Criminal Code and received a sentence of fifteen months to be served conditionally. The appellant appeals a portion of two of the conditions that were imposed upon him by the court.
[2] The first is condition #7 which says, in part, “The accused shall, with the assistance of his conditional sentence supervisor, write a letter of apology to [the victim] admitting his wrong, and apologizing for the harm done to her.” We agree with the appellant that the condition is not reasonable. An expression of remorse is entirely subjective and is not only fruitless when mandated by the court, it diminishes the very real mitigating effect on a genuine expression of remorse by an accused person.
[3] The second condition that is objected to is condition #8, subs. 5) which the fresh evidence indicates makes it virtually impossible for the appellant to earn a livelihood. The Crown has consented to the condition being amended so that condition #8, subs. 5) shall read as follows:
- performance of work to support himself gainfully, such work to be contracted for and performed with the prior knowledge and approval of his supervisor, and the offender to be absent from his home strictly for the purpose of performing this work, and, in any event, not before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on any given day.
[4] Accordingly, leave to appeal sentence is granted and the appeal is allowed to give effect to the variation in conditions 7 and 8 set out above.
Signed: “G.D. Finlayson J.A.” “J.J. Carthy J.A.” “Karen M. Weiler J.A.”