UPDATE: Charles sentenced to 8 years in kidnapping, sex assault case
A young man from northern Saskatchewan has been sentenced to jail time in a federal penitentiary in a case that gripped the community of Prince Albert and changed the lives of a little girl and her family.
Jarrod John Charles was sentenced in court Wednesday to eight years and 90 days in jail in connection to the kidnapping and sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl last year. The 20-year-old man had previously pleaded guilty to several charges in connection with the July 4, 2017 incident in which he kidnapped the little girl from a Prince Albert playground and took to her to an abandoned house east of the city, leaving her later to walk some seven kilometres through the forest for help.
Charles was on probation at the time for a prior assault involving a minor.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Charles received 611 days of credit for time spent in custody while his case was before the courts, leaving him with six and half years left to serve in jail. Provincial Court Judge Hugh Harradence called the case horrific and “every parent’s worst nightmare,” but said he also has a responsibility to consider alternatives to jail that may be appropriate.