Barrhead man receives nine months for violent attack on his spouse

BARRHEAD - An Alberta Justice implored that a Barrhead man convicted for assault with bodily harm in connection with a domestic violence incident against his spouse spends his time reflecting upon his actions. 

On Aug. 21, Justice Jordan Stuffco sentenced Terry Gene Silgard to nine months of incarceration and 18 months probation.

During the first nine months of his probation, Silgard will be subject to house arrest and only allowed to leave his County of Barrhead property when approved in writing by his court-ordered supervisor for things such as medical, dental, and legal appointments or to attend any counselling as directed. 

For the following nine months, the accused needs to continue to report to his probation officer and continue to attend counselling and treatment as directed, primarily regarding domestic violence.

As part of the sentence, Silgard is also prohibited from having any direct or indirect with the victim and a daughter. He is also subject to a weapons prohibition and a five-year firearms ban and must submit a DNA sample.

The Crown sought a sentence of 18 months of incarceration followed by 18 months probation, while Silgard's defence asked for an 18-month conditional sentence order followed by 24 months probation.

"Regardless of what people think about my judgement, [the Crown and defence] have done an admirable job of representing their positions," Stuffco said. "This was a very difficult decision and an unfortunate, sad case."

He also told Silgard that his attorney had done a "miraculous job" in representing his interests.

Background

Before giving his sentence, Stuffco described the pertinent facts of the incident, which occurred over two and a half years ago.

"The wife wanted to leave the accused after many years of marriage. The wife was at the family homestead to collect her belongings. The accused had asked his wife to chat with him inside a vehicle [which she did] to convince her to stay, but she wanted to press on with the separation and advised of that," he said.

Justice Stuffco added that the victim then got out of the vehicle and walked towards the house, at which point Silgard struck her in the back of the head from behind with a hammer-like object.

Earlier in the proceedings, Crown prosecutor Anthony Estephan described the weapon as a sledgehammer.

"Once she was on the ground, witnesses describe that the accused stood over her with a pocketknife, making threatening gestures towards her as she lay helpless on the ground," he said.

Stuffco then recounted how one of the victim's children came to her aid and was forced to strike her father several times with the previously mentioned hammer to get him to "retreat from the assault".

"The court heard the 911 recording, which coincided with the incident. It cannot be described as anything but horrifying.," Justice Stuffco said. "The traumatic screams from the two women from the 911 call demonstrate that this was an extremely horrific incident, and we are incredibly fortunate that there were not more injuries to the victim and the accused, both of which were serious."

Mitigating factors

Justice Stuffco said Silgard is 59 years old (56 when the incident occurred) and has no criminal record. 

Furthermore, he said, "All persons involved have advised the court that the accused has no previous history of violence."

Justice Stuffco also noted that since the incident, the accused had taken a three-hour private domestic violence course, equivalent to six hours if done in a public setting. 

"The accused also has the support of some family members who have taken his side in this unfortunate family split," he said.

Aggravating factors

Justice Stuffco said any intimate partner violence is aggravating but called the nature of the attack particularly so.

"This was an egregious situation where the accused attacked his spouse," he said. "I find this was a cowardly attack, not premeditated, spurred by anger and wanting to exact some sort of punishment on his spouse for pursuing separation."

Justice Stuffco then said he also had to consider the statutory conditions under Section 718 of the Canadian Criminal Code.

"Simply put, we need just sanctions imposed on offenders that demonstrate that there is a proportional connection with the gravity of the offence and the moral blameworthiness of the offender", he said. "I must also consider parity … similar punishments for similar offenders committing similar crimes."

He added that he also had to consider the availability of a conditional sentence and the principle that a first sentence of imprisonment should be as short as possible and tailored to the offender's circumstances rather than solely for the purpose of deterrence.

Justice Stuffco also characterized Stilgard's moral blameworthiness and responsibility as "very high", as demonstrated by the accused's not-guilty plea. 

He added that, as for parity, the Crown and defence did not present him with any case law relating to a similar type of conduct, such as this where house arrest meets the requirements. 

"However, when I consider his age and prior good reputation, I restrain myself for the length and type of sentence imposed. It is his first sentence, so I must temper the sentence given that factor," Justice Stuffco said.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com