SELECTED CASE LAW
YUKON:
In 2016 YKCA 7, Mr. M, a 26-year-old man, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting Ms. F, a 15-year-old girl. He was convicted and sentenced to 23 months and 14 days in jail but appealed the sentence.
Mr. M and Ms. F had been chatting over Facebook for a few months. Mr. M invited Ms. F and her friends over to drink alcohol at his house. Mr. M’s mother asked the girl and her friends to leave. Mr. M later texted the girls and invited her back over. Ms. F arrived between 3:00 and 4:00 AM. She fell asleep in a room and Mr. M lied down beside her and made sexual advances on her, which she told him to stop. She later woke up with Mr. M anally penetrating her with his penis. Ms. M told him to stop and he apologized. She was crying and upset and called a cousin and a friend to pick her up, who she told she had been raped.
Mr. M later contacted her to ask what he could do to make sure she did not charge him. Ms. F asked for money, which Mr. M transferred to her in five payments.
Mr. M was convicted of sexually assaulting Ms. F and was sentenced relying on previous cases where the victim was sleeping or unconscious when assaulted.
On appeal Mr. M’s sentence was reduced to 17 months. The trial judge had made a mistake by failing to adequately consider the Gladue factors and Mr. M’s prospects for rehabilitation. Additional orders included a DNA test, a 20 year sex offender registration, a weapons prohibition for life and a no contact order.
Also see: 2015 YKTC 34 (Sentencing).
Criminal Offence(s): Sexual Assault