Domestic abuser seeks treatment, not jail
Salem Gordon Leon Paul, 27, of Bilijk First Nation, brutalized girlfriend last fall on several occasions, but he wants help with severe alcoholism flowing from past trauma
A broken jaw. A fractured left cheekbone. A serious laceration to the head. A fractured rib. And a black eye.
The man who inflicted that damage on a woman last fall asked a court Friday to allow him to serve his sentence in the community rather than behind bars - so he can get treatment for his alcoholism.
Salem Gordon Leon Paul, 27, of Veterans Court on the Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by video Friday from jail for his sentencing hearing.
He pleaded guilty in May to assault causing bodily harm to Miranda Berubé on Nov. 3; aggravated assault by maiming her Nov. 29; and Dec. 20 counts of unlawful entry into her home, another assault on Berubé, assaults on two Mounties with a knife and possession of the knife to commit an offence.
Crown prosecutor Gwynne Hearn said the charges arose after RCMP officers were dispatched to the Bilijk home of Miranda Berubé shortly before 5 a.m. on Nov. 29.
When the Mounties arrived, Berubé was bleeding from the head and holding a cloth to the left side of her face, court heard.
“She indicated that Salem Paul, her boyfriend, had struck her a number of times,” the prosecutor said.
Police took the victim to hospital for treatment, she said, and it was discovered the victim had a fractured left cheek, a broken jaw and a black eye. The cut to the top of her head required stitches, court heard.
Berubé told officers she arrived home the evening of Nov. 28 and Paul was there, Hearn said. He’d been drinking.
The victim noticed a message on his phone and asked him about it, the prosecutor said, and he became enraged.
Paul pulled her from the bed and started punching her in the face repeatedly, Hearn said, and Berubé felt she was struck with an object on the top of her head, but she didn’t know what it was.
She lost consciousness due to the attack, court heard, and when she came to, Paul was still there but had snapped out of his frenzy.
However, Hearn said, his rage resumed when the victim asked again about the message she’d seen, punching her in the face again.
It was when she was speaking with police at that time that she revealed Paul had assaulted her previously.
The prosecutor said Berubé reported that on Nov. 3, they’d had an argument and the offender punched her in the head and in the ribs on her left side.
“Her left rib was broken and she had a hard time breathing,” Hearn said, noting Berubé hadn’t sought medical care at that time for those injuries.
She said there was another assault on Berubé on Dec. 20 at a Bilijk residence. Once again, he was on a bender, court heard.
Berubé was at the home to collect some of her things, Hearn said, and Paul became angry and struck her.
The victim managed to sneak out the front door, the prosecutor said, but Paul pursued her and swept her leg, taking her down. However, Berubé was able to get away and call the police.
“She stated Mr. Paul often takes her phones from her so can keep control,” Hearn said, noting it was a struggle over Berubé’s new phone that led to the violence on that occasion.
Officers escorted Berubé to her home that night shortly before 9 p.m., the prosecutor said, and she noticed her door was locked, which was unusual, as she usually left it unlocked.
She entered the home but immediately ran out, Hearn said, screaming to the Mounties, “He’s in my room!”
Police found Paul on her bed, shirtless with a near-empty bottle of vodka, court heard.
“He appeared to be sleeping,” the prosecutor said.
The RCMP called in backup, she said, and Paul woke and flew into a rage.
Court heard that he yelled down the hallway, “If you come in here, I will get you.”
He had a knife, Hearn said, but officers were able to subdue him.
The prosecutor said Paul has a prior criminal history that includes a previous conviction for intimate-partner violence.
Given the record and the nature of his latest crimes, she asked the court to impose a prison term of 4½ years, less credit for time spent on remand.
‘There’s a lot of generational trauma’
Defence lawyer L.A. Henry emphasized the many mitigating factors in her client’s favour, including his guilty pleas, his remorse, insight into his substance-abuse issues and historical Indigenous trauma that contributed to his problems.
She asked the court to grant a conditional sentence, to be served in the community so he could get treatment for his alcoholism at a facility at Sitansisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation in Fredericton.
To that end, Henry called Paul’s mother, Trina Paul, and sister, Samantha Paul, as witnesses during the sentencing hearing.
“Salem’s been an alcoholic since he was 16 years old,” the mother said. “Salem’s not a criminal, he’s an alcoholic.”
Trina Paul said her son’s time in jail has opened his eyes, adding that a social worker has helped him focus on his need for treatment to maintain his sobriety.
She said his alcoholism flows from abuse - both in his childhood and in his family’s history.
“There’s a lot of generational trauma,” she said. “There’s a lot of childhood trauma.”
Samantha Paul said she works at a Bilijk centre that helps people with addictions issues.
“We deal with rehab centres all across Canada,” she said, noting the Sitansisk facility appears to be able to accommodate her brother.
“Before I got here [jail], I really didn’t understand the severity of my alcoholism,” Salem Paul said, adding he’s trying to let go of resentment and wants to live a clean and productive life.
“I’ve got childhood trauma with abandonment issues.”
He said he now understands he can’t touch alcohol.
“I’m mindful of the very serious nature of the offences,” Henry told Judge Lucie Mathurin, reminding her that case law directs courts to avail themselves of less restrictive sentences for Indigenous offenders, who are overrepresented in the country’s prisons and jails.
“Alcohol abuse is the underscoring thing here … He’s turned things around. He’s attended AA.”
The defence lawyer asked Mathurin to apply her client’s remand credit to the aggravated assault offence and to allow a conditional sentence for the others.
Mathurin said there’s a significant divide between the recommended sentences, and she’ll need to review case law before arriving at a decision on sentencing.
She reserved her decision to Wednesday.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Are there not treatment programs in the jails?