WESTLOCK – A two-day trial for a man and woman facing multiple assault charges against several children didn’t proceed in Westlock Court of Justice on March 21. Instead, the couple pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. The accused can’t be named under a court-ordered publication ban to protect the identity of the children.
The man was charged with assault causing bodily harm, two counts of chokes/suffocates/strangles, assault with a weapon and two counts of assault. The woman was charged with assault with a weapon. Both entered guilty pleas to a reduced charge of assault as part of a joint sentencing submission between the Crown prosecutor and the defence.
“Beating children you are supposed to care for is a cowardly act,” Justice C. Purvis said to the man. “You’re a coward, plain and simple. You’re a bully and a coward. Had you not pled guilty I would put you in the pen [prison]. That’s where you belong.”
The other charges against the man were withdrawn by Crown prosecutor Eric Mosley in a joint sentencing submission entered into the court with the defence lawyer. Court heard it was important to keep the traumatized children off the witness stand so the accused had agreed to plead guilty and spare the children from testifying.
Several victim impact statements by the children were read aloud in court, detailing years of severe physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their stepfather and mother. The children described being forced to sit or stand on their knees for lengthy periods, excessively beaten and whipped with a belt, choked, necks squeezed until couldn't breathe, slapped, punched in the head, and having their arms twisted. In some incidents, one parent would hold a child down while the other continuously beat the child with a belt.
In their victim impact statement, the children said that they were “made fun of always, at school” because other children told them they smelled like cat urine, garbage, and rats.
The children also described being starved.
“I was very angry about food,” one child said. “We got no food.”
Court heard severe emotional scars remain, with the children expressing fear of the accused.
“I feel scared he will hurt people. I’m scared of him. He’s really mean to people. I’m scared of the dark now. I never want to see him.”
Another child spoke of ongoing physical pain, saying, “My elbow still hurts. It made me angry when they twisted my arm.”
One child said, “I’m scared. I don’t want to see either of them again.”
The man was sentenced to a six-month conditional sentence (CSO) to be served in the community, with the first three months under 24-hour house arrest. He will also serve 18 months of probation following the CSO.
The woman, who also pleaded guilty to assault, will undergo a pre-sentence report and is expected to be sentenced in June.
