A man from Chatham who pleaded guilty to inviting an underage girl to sexually touch him in Tecumseh has been sentenced to 3.5 years in a penitentiary.
The 37-year-old man, who will not be named by CK News Today in order to protect the identity of the underage victim, was sentenced in Windsor court on Monday afternoon. He was ordered to provide a DNA sample, register himself on the Sex Offenders Registry after his release, and was ordered not to own or possess any firearms or weapons for 10 years, and not to be within two kilometres of the victim's home, who was 15-years-old at the time of the offences between December 2020 and February 2021.
The man must also follow court orders not to be in contact or associate with anyone under the age of 16. The only exception is to pick up his daughter and he must be accompanied by another adult at that time.
The defence was asking for a three year sentence, claiming there was no violence or penetration during the assaults. The prosecution disagreed, saying the offences were violent whether there was a rape or not.
The court heard the man repeatedly exposed himself to the underage victim, sometimes several times a day, over 58 days, forced her to touch his genitals, and touched her breasts.
The case is under a publication ban preventing the complainant and witnesses from being identified.
The victim read a victim impact statement in court saying the sex assaults were "58 days of living hell".
"One more day and I believe you would have raped me," the minor told the court, who has known her perpetrator since she was two years old.
Her mother told the court in a victim impact statement that guilt and anger has consumed her for two years.
She also said her young daughter was suicidal, harmed herself, and had to be hospitalized twice because of the trauma she endured.
The victim's mother also called the man a predator and a pedophile several times.
She called her younger daughter a hero and brave for video taping most of the assaults, saying the 15-year-old victim didn't want the same fate for his 3-year-old daughter.
The victim's mother said her daughter is in emotional jail and that he is not remorseful, accusing him of still "stalking" the victim on social media.
The man's wife also had a victim impact statement read in court where she called her husband a monster.
The man's wife also said she's "humiliated" and fears her daughter will be next, adding her life ended suddenly because she lost the person she trusted the most, her husband.
She also believes the man is not remorseful.
"You are a calculated, sick, and disgusting person," his wife wrote. "Little did I know the scariest place was our home."
The man's defence lawyer told the court his client had a difficult childhood mired in alcoholism and abuse, but was a good student and a good athlete, adding he has taken steps recently to rehabilitate himself.
The man has been living with his parents in Chatham and has recently bought a new house in Chatham where he hopes to rebuild his relationship with his daughter when he gets out of prison.
The man's mother said he is a good son and a good father and regrets not getting him into counseling when he was younger because of the household trauma and the trauma he suffered when his childhood friend was murdered in Chatham many years ago.
She said her son is remorseful because she often hears him crying.
"He's ashamed of his actions. He's not a monster," the man's mother said.
The man addressed the court during Monday's hearing, saying he is remorseful, ashamed, and regrets his actions, adding they were the result of "a tremendous lack of judgement."
"I understand and appreciate the harm I've done," he said.
The presiding judge said the victim showed great strength and bravery in dealing with this matter.
The other charges of sexual assault on a person under 16 years of age and sexual interference were withdrawn.
