Letter to the Editor...
For those of you who don't know: Andy and I were in Thunder Bay Dec 12, for the sentencing of Lorne Gibson, a man from Dorion that sexually assaulted Amy when she worked for him as a young teen. Below is the newspaper article written after the sentencing, followed by Amy's letter to the editor with her reactions, and then some of my thoughts. I always find relief in venting on paper. I may send the first one to the newspaper also.
A 72-year-old Thunder Bay-area man was given a conditional sentence of two years less a day Monday for sexual exploitation involving a teenage girl.
Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce gave him a concurrent conditional sentence after he was earlier found guilty of sexual assault on another teenage girl.
One of the complainants was between 14 and 17 when the sexual exploitation was committed between Oct. 30, 1990, and Aug. 31, 1994, while the second complainant was between 12 and 14 when she was sexually assaulted between Jan. 1, 1985, and Dec. 31, 1987.
In handing down sentence Monday, Pierce said the man was a first-time offender and had expressed remorse for both offences.
While caring for his infirm mother, he also volunteered, prior to sentencing, with two community services in Thunder Bay.
“He has shown himself amenable to community supervision and he is personally deterred,” Pierce said.
She said in her judgment that the consensual nature of the sexual exploitation offence must be considered.
The man must abide by a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew except for a medical emergency for himself or a family member.
He must attend out-patient counselling for sexual misconduct and will be on three years probation when the conditional sentence has been served.
He must also register with the national sex offender registry and submit a DNA sample.
Other than apologizing to the victims, he is not to have any contact with them or their families.
Earlier evidence showed the two girls worked for him in a variety of tasks including doing paperwork for his insurance business.
Pierce issued a court order prohibiting publication of information that might identify the complainants, including the name of the accused.
Defence counsel Lee Baig said reformatories are not designed for elderly convicts such as his client.
“They find those institutions very dangerous, very threatening and a very difficult place to exist.”
Baig hired criminologist Matthew Yeager of Ottawa to interview his client, the client’s family and others.
Yeager ordered a forensic evaluation which was performed by Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital’s Dr. Robert Sheppard.
Yeager told Baig that Sheppard had found no evidence of long-term pedophiliac interest and that the man was a “low-threat, low-risk” individual.
Yeager said Sheppard concluded there was no sexual deviance.
“What happened was the result of poor judgment, isolation and the breakdown of his marriage.”
Crown counsel David MacKenzie said the sentence should be proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
“There’s no question he has committed serious offences,” MacKenzie said. “He betrayed the trust of two young girls.
“The impact on the victims warrants a serious sentence.”
MacKenzie said incarceration of some sort was necessary.
The victim who was sexually assaulted said she was disappointed with the penalty.
“I know he is a danger to the community still,” the woman, who is now 32, said outside court Monday.
“House arrest is basically a slap on the wrists considering the crime took place in his house.”
She said she still suffers post traumatic stress, almost 20 years after the assault. She is taking medication for depression and anxiety and is seeing a counsellor.
The other victim, now 29, said every aspect of her life has been affected.
“I lost a relationship because of this mess,” she said, “and he gets to sit in the house where the crime was committed.”
She said she didn’t understand how the man could say the acts were consensual.
“It’s absolutely disgusting that people get away with things like this. If he robbed a bank, he’d get 25 years.
“But when is a human being considered less than material things?”
| Senior sentenced for sexual assault By JIM KELLY Dec 13, 2005, 22:50 | Email this article Printer friendly page |
Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce gave him a concurrent conditional sentence after he was earlier found guilty of sexual assault on another teenage girl.
One of the complainants was between 14 and 17 when the sexual exploitation was committed between Oct. 30, 1990, and Aug. 31, 1994, while the second complainant was between 12 and 14 when she was sexually assaulted between Jan. 1, 1985, and Dec. 31, 1987.
In handing down sentence Monday, Pierce said the man was a first-time offender and had expressed remorse for both offences.
While caring for his infirm mother, he also volunteered, prior to sentencing, with two community services in Thunder Bay.
“He has shown himself amenable to community supervision and he is personally deterred,” Pierce said.
She said in her judgment that the consensual nature of the sexual exploitation offence must be considered.
The man must abide by a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew except for a medical emergency for himself or a family member.
He must attend out-patient counselling for sexual misconduct and will be on three years probation when the conditional sentence has been served.
He must also register with the national sex offender registry and submit a DNA sample.
Other than apologizing to the victims, he is not to have any contact with them or their families.
Earlier evidence showed the two girls worked for him in a variety of tasks including doing paperwork for his insurance business.
Pierce issued a court order prohibiting publication of information that might identify the complainants, including the name of the accused.
Defence counsel Lee Baig said reformatories are not designed for elderly convicts such as his client.
“They find those institutions very dangerous, very threatening and a very difficult place to exist.”
Baig hired criminologist Matthew Yeager of Ottawa to interview his client, the client’s family and others.
Yeager ordered a forensic evaluation which was performed by Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital’s Dr. Robert Sheppard.
Yeager told Baig that Sheppard had found no evidence of long-term pedophiliac interest and that the man was a “low-threat, low-risk” individual.
Yeager said Sheppard concluded there was no sexual deviance.
“What happened was the result of poor judgment, isolation and the breakdown of his marriage.”
Crown counsel David MacKenzie said the sentence should be proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
“There’s no question he has committed serious offences,” MacKenzie said. “He betrayed the trust of two young girls.
“The impact on the victims warrants a serious sentence.”
MacKenzie said incarceration of some sort was necessary.
The victim who was sexually assaulted said she was disappointed with the penalty.
“I know he is a danger to the community still,” the woman, who is now 32, said outside court Monday.
“House arrest is basically a slap on the wrists considering the crime took place in his house.”
She said she still suffers post traumatic stress, almost 20 years after the assault. She is taking medication for depression and anxiety and is seeing a counsellor.
The other victim, now 29, said every aspect of her life has been affected.
“I lost a relationship because of this mess,” she said, “and he gets to sit in the house where the crime was committed.”
She said she didn’t understand how the man could say the acts were consensual.
“It’s absolutely disgusting that people get away with things like this. If he robbed a bank, he’d get 25 years.
“But when is a human being considered less than material things?”
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posted by mamma james at 5:52 PM
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