A St. Albert father was sentenced to more than five years in jail for sexually abusing his two young children.
Justice Larry Ackerl said the actions of a man charged with the sexual abuse of his two school-aged children are “abhorrent and repugnant” before sentencing the father to five years and six months behind bars. Once released he will be on probation for ten years and will be prohibited from being around children.
Victim impact statements from the children and their mother that were read into court said the children were scared of their father, never wanted to see him again and were having trouble trusting people.
The St. Albert father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his young children, was sentenced on Friday at the Court of Queen's Bench in Edmonton after pleading guilty in December to charges related to sexual abuse and uploading child pornography.
Ackerl said that the behaviour was a “staggering breach of trust” which took place in “the presumed sanctuary of the family home.”
The 35-year-old father received two years and three months for each count of inviting sexual touching of each of his young children and one year for uploading child pornography onto the web. The pornography uploaded did not involve his children.
Overall six sexual assault incidents were committed with the man’s children with three incidents on each child. One child was victimized over the course of three years, while another child suffered the abuse over one year. The abuse began while both children were under the age of five.
The father was first arrested in May 2017 after he was caught uploading child pornography to the internet. Once apprehended by the police, the father confessed to the abuse of his own children.
Victim impact
Three victim impact statements were read by Crown Prosecutor Wendy Miller on behalf of the man’s two children and estranged wife. One child was able to write the letter alone while the younger child needed the help of the mother.One child wrote that she is scared of her dad and that she doesn’t “want to feel sad again.”
“Daddy might hurt me again if he gets out of jail. I’m scared,” the letter read.
The other child said that she is now clingy to her mom and that she doesn’t like to talk about her dad.
“I don’t want to see my dad anymore,” the letter said.
The impact statements were written with the help of the children’s mother.
The estranged wife also submitted an impact statement that said she feels anxious and depressed since the incident and is paranoid the community knows what happened to her family.
“One thing that really worries me is that people won’t look at them as beautiful strong little girls but just as victims,” the mother’s letter said.
The wife is also fearful that the father will try to return to the family after his release from custody.
“I worry that if he ever gets out he might try to contact us and hurt us. I want nothing to do with him,” the mom said.
The mom said that she worries about the long-term impact of the abuse on her daughters as they grow older.
“It breaks my heart knowing that they find it hard to trust,” the mom said.
All of the victim impact statements said the family is suffering financially after the father was arrested, as he was the breadwinner in the house.
Sentencing
During the sentencing, Ackerl noted that it was mitigating that the father confessed to his crimes and was cooperative with police. The father also entered an early guilty plea, which Ackerl said “spared that emotional cost” of his children having to testify.The court heard that the father had previously had treatment for his problems by attending counselling and support groups before he was arrested.
Ackerl said that he believes that the father was genuinely remorseful for his actions and that he believes that the father has a growing self-awareness and insight into the harm that he has caused.
The court heard the father was part of a cycle of incest abuse that he suffered at the hands of his own father, which he then committed with his two children.
Dr. Reuben Lang, a forensic psychologist with a focus on sexual abuse, testified at the sentencing hearing and said that perpetrators of incest have a very low rate of recidivism. Typically incest offenders have between a five to 10 per cent chance of re-offending. Lang said that the father had a 2.8 per cent chance of offending again without receiving treatment.
Remorseful father
The father cried as he stood in court to read a letter which outlined his remorse and regret for the incident and wishes the incidents had never happened. The man said he loved his children very much and did not mean to harm them.The man was originally facing two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference, two counts of invitation to sexual touching, making child pornography available online and possession of child pornography. In December the father pleaded guilty to two counts of inviting sexual touching and one count of making child porn available online. The remaining charges were withdrawn.
The father will get credit for serving 18 months in pre-trial custody, which leaves him with four years left to serve. The man will not be able to have any contact with his children or estranged wife while he is in custody unless it is initiated by the victims.
The mother of the children also faced charges of causing a child to be in need of intervention after it was discovered she knew about the abuse for several months and did not report it to police. The mother pleaded guilty in February and was given a suspended sentence with 12 months of probation.
The investigation into the father began in March 2017 and was prompted after the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children noticed a social media user uploading child pornography.
