No jail time for teen sex offender
by Deborah Churchill
Standard Staff
An eighteen year old sex offender won't spend any time behind bars for sexually assaulting
two teenage girls.
After mulling over the case for almost two weeks, Judge Leslie Baldwin of Ontario Court's provincial
division in St. Catharines ordered that the young man serve two months in an open custody facility followed
by 18 months probation.
An open custody facility is akin to a group home where the residents are
required to report their activities to a custodial authority.
Because the youth was 17 years old when the sex assaults took place, his name cannot be published
under the Young Offenders Act.
Both sexual assaults took place during house parties where alcohol and drugs were abused
The first assault occured in December of 1995 after a sixteen year old girl who had been drinking and smoking marijuana,
passed out. She was assisted to a bedroom by the youth and another male. She
awoke to find the young man sexually assaulting her.
The second assault occured a year later. This time, the victim was a close female friend celebrating her birthday.
Baldwin said she took into consideration both the circumstances surrounding the offences and the
circumstances surrounding the offender in determining the punishment.
This included the sudden death of the young man's father in July 1996.
"He started to consume large quantities of alcohol on a daily basis to numb the
pain he was feeling...and demonstrated poor self control," said Baldwin. "His
mother was unable to offer him the proper structure because of her own grief."
The first sexual assault, however, took place before the death of his father, an
act Baldwin attributes to "impulsive behavior and general immaturity."
She says the court will recommend the young man be placed in a facility close
to home where he can continue to care for his sick mother.
During his probational period, he must reside with his mother, attend school or work full-time,
undergo therapy for alcohol abuse, perform 100 hours of community service and have
no contact with the two girls he assaulted.
But according to his second victim, who is now eighteen, the punishment falls far short of what he deserves.
"I was hoping for a lot more. I had to take a year off school because he was at the same school. It was a pretty rough
year," said the teenager, who cannot be identified under the Young Offenders Act.
And even though some of the emotional wounds are starting to heal, she says
she will never be able to forget what happened.
"(The judge) didn't say anything about what she's been through," said her mother angrily. "I thought
he'd get at least six months in jail for what he did."
Linda Klassen of the sexual assault centre in St. Catharines was in the courtroom with the victim and her mother.
"sexual assault is an act of violence," said Klassen."A psychological and
emotional injury is still an injury, but this system seems to be very physically
oriented."
And she says the fact that his father died is no excuse for sexual assault.
"I don't understand why that was taken into consideration," Klassen said.
© 1997 sarahlynngardner@hotmail.com
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