P. Downes

The accused pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual interference, sexual assault, and sexual assault causing bodily harm arising from prolonged sexual abuse of his two adopted daughters beginning when they were children.

The abuse spanned decades, involved repeated sexual assaults, pregnancies resulting in three children, and sustained manipulation to conceal the offences.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence as primary sentencing objectives for sexual offences against children and applied the guidance in Friesen concerning substantial penitentiary terms.

Considering aggravating factors including abuse of trust, prolonged offending, pregnancies, and profound harm to victims, the court imposed a global sentence of 22 years less pre‑sentence custody credit.

The request for delayed parole eligibility under s. 743.6 was denied.

The Crown applied for a search warrant under s. 487 of the Criminal Code to search the accused's password-protected smartphone, along with an assistance order under s. 487.02 to compel the accused to unlock the device.

The court granted the search warrant but dismissed the application for the assistance order.

The court held that compelling the accused to reveal his password or unlock the phone would violate his right to pre-trial silence and protection against self-incrimination under s. 7 of the Charter, and that the use immunity proposed by the Crown was insufficient to cure the breach.