Three years for criminally negligent fatality

Judge ruled community-based sentence sought by Jason Andrew King, 44, of Central Hainesville, for death of Michael Anthony Henderson, 18, wouldn't be appropriate

A Central Hainesville man who turned a blind eye to his responsibility for safety protocols on a worksite five years ago, causing a teenager’s death, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Thomas Christie rendered his decision Tuesday afternoon on sentencing for Jason Andrew King, 46, of Crabbe Mountain Road.

The judge found King guilty after trial of criminal negligence causing the death of Michael Anthony Henderson, 18, of Fredericton, on Aug, 16, 2018.

Jason Andrew King arrives at the Burton Courthouse on Tuesday to learn his sentence for criminal negligence causing the death of 18-year-old Michael Henderson in 2018. (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

Henderson was clearing debris in an enclosed hole at the Barker Street Wastewater Treatment Plant around lunchtime that day when an inflatable rubber plug holding back water from the hole came loose.

Henderson was pinned by the plug and the water pressure, and he drowned as a result.

The main courtroom at the Burton Courthouse was nearly packed Tuesday afternoon to learn of King’s fate, almost as much as it was Monday for Crown and defence submissions on sentencing.

During a sentencing hearing Monday, prosecutor Christopher Lavigne argued for a 3½-year prison term, while defence counsel Patrick Hurley asked the court to consider a conditional sentence, to be served in the community subject to conditions such as house arrest or a curfew. 

Christie said Tuesday what was apparent from the case was how the tragedy reverberated throughout so many lives.

“Michael Henderson was loved. He touched many in his family,” the judge said, noting the victim had a large circle of friends as well.

“His journey ended in the most tragic of ways.”

The depth of the pain and grief Henderson’s family members are experiencing can’t be expressed into words, Christie said.

Charges of criminal negligence causing death inherently stem from action or inaction that “shows a wanton or reckless disregard for the safety and lives of others,” he said.

King, as the site supervisor at the treatment plant, admitted when testifying in his own defence that he did nothing to inform himself of his responsibilities for the safety of those working under him.

“As a supervisor, there were certain legislated duties on Mr. King,” Christie said Tuesday, but he didn’t avail himself of the safety manuals available or give any real consideration for work safety.

“He had essentially done nothing,” the judge said.

King told WorkSafeNB officials after the accident that he knew Henderson was likely in the hole when he was making preparations for a water-flow test in that location, Christie said, and he told them his safety plan in case something went awry was to have someone pull Henderson out.

“This plan was no plan at all,” the judge said.

However, he accepted King’s expression of remorse in his pre-sentence report and directly to the court Monday.

Court heard King wants to get the case behind him as it’s been a weight that’s been bearing down on him for too long.

In arguing for a prison term of 42 months, the prosecution pointed to a Toronto case in which a construction supervisor was sentenced to the same sentence for four work deaths in a scaffolding collapse.

But Christie said he didn’t find the two cases to be as analogous as the Crown had suggested.

Conversely, the judge was opposed to the defence’s quest for a community-based sentence. The law notes that a conditional sentence can only be granted if the expected term of incarceration is under a two-year benchmark.

“In my view, the circumstances of this case do not lend themselves to a term of incarceration of less than two years,” Christie said.

Furthermore, the law says a conditional sentence would be available only if it wouldn’t be contrary to the sentencing principles of denunciation of a crime and deterrence, he said, and that wasn’t the case here.

He agreed with the Crown’s contention that King’s prior conviction for a 2006 manslaughter was indicative of a lack of regard for others’ well-being.

Two people are now dead because of King’s actions, the judge said.

Michael Anthony Henderson (Photo: Facebook)

The defence had argued King’s moral blameworthiness for Henderson’s death was reduced by his employer’s failure to train him on safety requirements and duties, Christie said, but he wasn’t sure that was so.

Weighing all of the factors, the judge sentenced King to three years in prison, slightly under the sentence the Crown sought.

As a deputy sheriff led King from the courtroom through a side door for those in custody, the courtroom fell silent. There were no outbursts, instead only a quiet sadness that seemed to blanket members of Henderson’s family and those attending to support King.

The Fredericton Police Force also charged Springhill Construction Ltd. with criminal negligence causing Henderson’s death. The Fredericton firm had the contract for the municipal construction job at the treatment plant five years ago. 

The company’s Court of King’s Bench trial is slated for January.

King was working for Springhill at the time of the fatal incident, but he was fired shortly afterward.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.