14 years for sex abuse of toddler son
28-year-old offender prohibited from any contact with children after prison term
Warning: This story includes disturbing and graphic descriptions of sexual abuse of a young child.
A Lincoln man’s egregious sexual abuse of his young son over four years merited a lengthy prison term, a judge ruled Friday, noting there was a “profound” breach of trust.
The 28-year-old offender appeared before Fredericton provincial court Judge Cameron Gunn by video from a provincial jail Friday to learn what his sentence would be for sexually abusing his son, beginning when the child was only two years old.
The prisoner previously admitted to sexual touching, invitation to sexual touching, making child pornography and possessing that same pornography, which all occurred between July 26, 2019, and Aug. 13, 2023.
The man had also been charged with related counts of incest and sexual assault, but the Crown withdrew those charges - though the conduct to which they referred were captured in the facts relayed on the others.
There’s a court-ordered publication ban protecting the identity of the young victim, and given the relationship between the boy and the offender, the Fredericton Independent is omitting the latter’s name to comply with the order.
Earlier this week, court heard the abuse came to light this summer when the boy, then six years old, told his mother of a “pee in the mouth” game he played with his father.
The man then confessed to the boy’s mother - and later to the RCMP - that he subjected his son to an unimaginable array of abuse, starting with the urination; then oral sex, first getting the toddler to serve him and then taking the child’s penis into his mouth; and repeated anal penetration with his penis.
Crown prosecutor Karen Lee argued for a prison term of 14 years, while defence lawyer Edward Derrah said a 10-year sentence would fulfil the need to denounce the conduct and to deter the offender and others.
Gunn ultimately decided a 14-year prison sentence was necessary in the case.
Egregious aggravating factors
Citing a 2020 Supreme Court of Canada decision - R v. Friesen - the judge said there’s been a shift in philosophy when it comes to sentencing offenders for sex crimes.
“The court specifically calls for an increase in sentencing,” Gunn said, especially when it comes to offences against children.
He said the court had to address both the mitigating factors in the case but to balance them with the serious aggravating factors as well.
Among the elements in the offender’s favour, the judge said, were his guilty pleas and expressions of remorse.
But the aggravating factors were quite dire, he said, referring to the age of the child, the abuse of parental trust, the duration of the sexual abuse and the far more serious nature of the violations of the boy’s sexual integrity.
Court heard previously the offender had estimated he’d engaged in more than 50 but fewer than 100 separate sexual acts with the young son over four years.
“The abuse of trust here is profound… It was [the offender’s] primary and principal responsibility to protect [the victim],” the judge said.
“Each instance shows a further and continued choice… It constitutes a significant violation.”
Also aggravating was the decision to photograph the boy in a sexual manner. Court heard police found numerous images of the child’s anal area, with the buttocks spread apart by the father in some photos and in others, the boy had been directed to spread them himself.
Furthermore, the boy’s face was visible in many of the images, Gunn said.
“The images here were taken by a father of a son,” he said.
While no evidence was presented to the court during sentencing on likelihood the accused would reoffend, the judge said, he deemed it would be quite high.
It’s been well established that sexual abuse of children to this extent tends not to be isolated, Gunn said, and the offender himself has admitted to having a long-standing sexual attraction to children.
Court also heard the boy’s mother knew of her husband’s pedophilic inclinations, and she had asked him if he would ever act on them toward their child.
He told her he would never do so, but that turned out, clearly, not to be the case.
The judge said Friday the court also had to consider the impacts of the offender’s crimes on his victims - the boy, and by extension, his wife - in crafting an appropriate sentence.
While there was no documentation on the future effects of the abuse, Gunn said, courts know that such offences invariably have long-lasting psychological effects that interfere with emotional well-being and the ability to form future relationships.
“Neither will ever be completely free of the consequences,” he said, referring to the boy and his mother.
The offender’s spouse was present in court for the sentencing decision Friday, and Gunn acknowledged that while there are challenges and trauma ahead for her and her son, he noted it also takes “tremendous strength” for a family to survive such abuse and violations of trust.
Gunn imposed a 10-year prison term for the sexual-touching offences, to run concurrently to one another, and a further four-year term for the child-pornography crimes, for a total of 14 years.
However, he noted the offender served 130 days on remand, and he applied the customary 1½-to-one remand credit for that time, for a total of 195 days.
That means the remaining sentence to be served is 13 years and 5½ months.
Ancillary orders imposed as well
During that period, the judge said, the offender is prohibited from any contact with his son or the boy’s mother.
Gunn also imposed orders requiring him to submit a DNA sample for inclusion in a criminal database, prohibiting him from possessing firearms and other weapons for 10 years following his sentence, and requiring him to register as a sex offender for 20 years after serving his sentence.
The judge issued an order under Section 161 of the Criminal Code of Canada barring the offender from attending public places where children under the age of 16 can be expected to be present, such as schools, daycares, pools or playgrounds; to stay at least two kilometres away from his son; to have no unsupervised contact with children; and to refrain from any employment of volunteer work that could place him in a position of trust or authority over kids.
The court also ordered a laptop computer and cellphone seized by police to be forfeited to the Crown for destruction.
Gunn’s final words during Friday’s proceedings were made directly to the offender.
“You’ve got a long road ahead of you,” the judge told him, noting that rehabilitation isn’t impossible.
“What you do here, from now on, is your choice.”
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Finally our justice system got something right. any lesser amount of time would have been an insult to justice and children everywhere. And don't keep him in solitary, the other prisoners will want to make friends with him.
Not enough time