Soapy discipline leads to assault conviction
Burtt’s Corner man denied discharge for offence against former girlfriend’s young son
A Burtt’s Corner man learned the hard way this week that the old disciplinary mainstay of washing a child’s mouth out with soap doesn’t fly in the world of modern parenting.
The 30-year-old man was charged with a summary count of assault that occurred between Dec. 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021, and he pleaded guilty earlier this year to the offence.
He was back in Fredericton provincial court for sentencing Tuesday.
Judge Scott Brittain ordered a publication ban on any information that might identify the young victim, and given the facts of the case, the Fredericton Independent isn’t naming the offender either so as to comply with that order.
Crown prosecutor Gwynne Hearn said in the fall of 2021, a mother told her two children they weren’t going to see the defendant around anymore.
Court heard the mother had been the offender’s girlfriend, but they were breaking up.
Hearn said upon learning of the end of the relationship, the woman’s daughter, the older of her two kids, told her of an incident between the accused and her five-year-old brother.
The prosecutor said months before, the offender was home alone with the kids, and there was an incident between him and the boy.
As a result, court heard, the offender took the child into a bathroom and washed his mouth out with soap, and the boy told his sister about it afterward.
The defendant confirmed Tuesday that’s what happened.
Hearn said the offender was acting in loco parentis, meaning he was acting in a parental role at the time and therefore abused a position of trust or authority over the victim.
Another aggravating factor in the case, she said, was that the victim was a minor.
Court also heard that the Burtt’s Corner man has a prior criminal record, but not for anything similar or related to this offence.
Given those elements, the prosecutor said, the sentence needed to send the right message.
Hearn recommended a conditional sentence of four to six months, to be served in the community under a curfew, with no contact with the victim, to be followed by a period of probation.
Defence lawyer Ken Allen emphasized his client’s guilty plea, remorse, family support, employment and lack of a history of such offences.
“It wasn’t an appropriate response,” Allen said of the defendant’s actions.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” the defendant said.
The defence lawyer asked the court to grant a conditional discharge, which would spare his client a criminal record for the minor assault.
“This is certainly at the lower end [of assault offences],” Allen said, arguing the public wouldn’t be outraged at a discharge in the circumstances.
But Brittain said the age of the victim is a statutorily aggravating factor, and as such, a discharge wouldn’t be a fit sentence, especially in light of the fact that the offender has a prior criminal record.
A conditional sentence is appropriate, he said, although the duration recommended by the Crown was a bit excessive.
The judge imposed a 90-day conditional sentence, during which the offender must observe a curfew of 10 p.m.-6 a.m., present himself at the door should authorities check on compliance with the curfew, have no contact with the victim or his mother, and participate in any counselling or treatment programs as directed by his sentence supervisor.
Brittain also ordered a 12-month term of probation to follow, continuing the counselling and no-contact conditions.
He further ordered the offender to pay a $100 victim-fine surcharge.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.