A Morinville man was sent to prison for six and a half years Friday, for long-term sexual abuse he committed against his daughter and her best friend.
The 40-year-old man, who cannot be identified in order to protect his daughter's identity, was sentenced for the torrent of sexual abuse he inflicted upon both girls over the course of several years.
He also videotaped sexual encounters with his daughter's friend, who saw him as a second father, and threatened to send the videos to family and friends, or even beat up her boyfriend if she went to the police.
The man pleaded guilty earlier this month to five charges, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, extortion, and both the possession and distribution of child pornography.
Long-term abuse
The daughter's abuse began when she was nine years old and included several attempts at forced intercourse.
The abuse continued for several years and involved at least 50 incidents of inappropriate touching, in some cases happening while watching TV in front of the girl's mother, but hidden under a blanket.
The daughter's friend was a regular visitor to the family home who often slept over and came along on family vacations.
Her abuse began when she was 14 and included multiple sexual encounters. The man forced her to perform various sexual acts.
Both young girls submitted victim impact statements to the court. The daughter no longer lives with the family and is still suffering emotionally.
The other girl's aunt read her statement into the record, which described the young girl's emotional suffering and struggles with schoolwork.
The statement said she had become quiet and introverted, but also tried to hide her pain from others.
"I find myself, more often than not, trying to be happy so people won't worry about me," the girl wrote.
Extortion
The two girls eventually tried to pull away from the man; his daughter ran away and her friend tried to end the relationship.
He told his daughter to "fix things" between him and her friend and threatened to kick her out of the family home.
The man often texted the other girl, trying to get her to see him again for more sex.
The girl told him she had been feeling depressed and even suicidal and wanted to be left alone.
Crown prosecutor Dianne Hollingshead read the man's text-message response as evidence of the uncaring and callous attitude toward both girls.
"If you are going to kill yourself because you have to have sex with me then just do it, because this is not the hardest decision you are going to have to make."
She also referenced the conversation when he demanded his daughter "fix things" between him and her friend.
"One can't imagine what that conversation was like between father and daughter."
Succumbing to the threats of violence against her boyfriend, the daughter's friend twice went over to the family home in October and had sex with the man, an act he videotaped.
He later emailed her the videos as proof of what he had done and demanded she sign a piece of paper indicating all sexual conduct had been consensual.
Defence lawyer Alex Pringle put his emphasis on the man's decision to plead guilty, sparing both victims the pain of testifying and reliving the abuse.
Hollingshead sought a six- to nine-year sentence, strongly suggesting it should be on the higher end of that range.
Pringle said he didn't disagree, except for his client's guilty plea. Not only was it sparing the victims, but lower sentences for guilty pleas were important to the system, he said.
"There has to be an incentive to get these individuals to plead guilty."
Breach of trust
In handing down his decision, Justice Sterling Sanderman said the accused held a position of trust with both girls — trust he badly abused.
"The sexual conduct is bad. The fact that there has been breach of trust makes it even worse."
Sanderman said the extortive behaviour showed his self-interest and disregard for the girls' feelings.
"It was callous, it was uncaring with little thought to the harm that was done to two young girls."
Nevertheless the judge said he put significant weight on the man's decision to plead guilty, largely because of the weight it removed from the victims.
"Anytime somebody charged with an offence of this sort, like you, takes away the need for people to come to court to testify, that is significant."
In addition to the prison term, the man will be a registered sex offender when he is released and was handed a weapons ban and order requiring him to be part of the national DNA database.
