R. v. Gerrard

R. v. Gerrard

Despite the offender's low assessed risk to reoffend and mitigating factors (no prior record, passage of time), the offence involved a significant breach of trust, a vulnerable 11-12 year-old victim, purposeful sexual touching near genitalia, deception and long-term harm; in light of Friesen the need for...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2021 BCSC 1219
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Robert Matthew Gerrard
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
18 June 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentencing After Conviction for Sexual Interference / Sentencing
Outcome
Sentence imposed: 20 months' imprisonment (to be served in a provincial prison) followed by two years' probation; ancillary orders imposed.
Legal Topics
Sexual Interference, Conditional Sentence, Ancillary Orders, Sex Offender Registration, DNA Order, Weapons Prohibition, Friesen Principles
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Sentencing Child Sexual Offences Sexual Interference Conditional Sentence Ancillary Orders Sex Offender Registration DNA Order +2 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Robert Matthew Gerrard

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentencing After Conviction for Sexual Interference / Sentencing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate sentence for historical sexual interference of a child
  2. 2 Availability and appropriateness of a conditional sentence order (CSO) given legislative changes and Charter s.11(i)
  3. 3 Weight to give psychological risk assessment and denial by offender

Ratio Decidendi

Despite the offender's low assessed risk to reoffend and mitigating factors (no prior record, passage of time), the offence involved a significant breach of trust, a vulnerable 11-12 year-old victim, purposeful sexual touching near genitalia, deception and long-term harm; in light of Friesen the need for denunciation and general deterrence required incarceration; a CSO was available by operation of s.11(i) and historic s.742.1 but was rejected as inconsistent with sentencing principles; sentence imposed was 20 months' provincial imprisonment followed by two years' probation with ancillary orders (DNA, 20-year SOIRA, 10-year weapons prohibition, 10-year s.161 prohibitions, no contact...

Court Disposition

Sentence imposed: 20 months' imprisonment (to be served in a provincial prison) followed by two years' probation; ancillary orders imposed.

Orders

  • Imprisonment for 20 months to be served in prison
  • Probation for two years with conditions (keep the peace; appear when required; notify of name/address/employment changes; no contact with J.I. or her mother; not within 200 metres of places where J.I. or her mother are; report to probation officer; no unsupervised contact with persons under 14 except with prior...