Man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting girl, 11

A 22-year-old man will spend the next two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.

The incident happened in January 2013 at a First Nation in the Melfort area. The man’s name and home community cannot be published to protect the identity of the victim.

The case was heard in Melfort Provincial Court on Jan. 27, 2015. The man pleaded guilty to a sexual assault charge.

According to court documents, the girl’s parents had gone out shopping, leaving the man in charge of their kids. During that time, the girl had asked the man to have sex with her. The man then touched her neck and she decided it was not a good idea. The man later asked the girl to go to the basement, she went downstairs and the man followed. The girl was terrified, but denied being so when the man asked her. The girl then asked him if he wanted to have sex with her and he then told her to undress. He then sexually assaulted her.

The judge gave the man no credit for the fact that the girl did not resist, noting she was by law unable to consent.The judge also wrote that there is an element of violence by definition in the sexual assault, which is manifests itself where an adult willingly has intercourse with a vulnerable child. The judge wrote that the girl’s sexual integrity and vulnerability were taken advantage of by the man.

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“He was in a position of trust toward her, having been taken in by her family and treated like a son by her parents.  He was left in charge of her and her siblings while the parents were away.  He used that to perpetrate the sexual assault by suggesting they go to the basement, while the other children remained upstairs.”

The judge wrote that the court must stress its abhorrance for these types of assaults and the man and the public “must know with certainty that a significant period of incarceration will result for those who decide to prey upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society.  Sexual abuse of children will not be treated lightly.  Victims of abuse, and especially children who suffer sexual abuse, often carry the shame and trauma with them for years and it can have a very detrimental effect upon them well into adulthood.  The courts must send a strong, consistent message that such offences will be condemned and the offenders will face severe consequences.”

The man was sentenced to 46 months in jail, but because of time already served, he will only serve another 30 months.

The girl continues to go undergo counselling. After the incident, she left her home to live with her grandparents due to the memories associated with the incident.

In a victim impact statement, the girl’s parents said they feel betrayed by the man, adding they had thought of him as a member of the family. The parents said they hope the man can get the help he needs to ensure that he never hurts another child again.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell