Gordon Kornelson sentenced 4 years for sexual assault

This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault and may be upsetting to some readers. Please proceed with caution.

by CHRIS GAREAU

Gordon Kornelson, 80, was sentenced to four years for sexually assaulting his granddaughter repeatedly over a period of eight years starting when she was four years old.

Judge Kael McKenzie granted the victim’s request that there be no publication ban on the case.

Defence attorney Jonathan Pinx had asked that Kornelson receive a custodial sentence to be served with house arrest, citing his client’s age and medical conditions. A psychologist also deemed Kornelson a low risk to reoffend. The Crown prosecutor asked for an eight-year prison term.

Judge McKenzie called the sentence low.

“It is statutorily aggravating that he abused a child with whom he was in a position of trust. It’s also aggravating that the offender as a child’s grandparent abused the victim from the tender age of four until the child was 12.

“Abuse was long-term and frequent. The harm has distorted the victim’s childhood, caused her significant distress, and left her questioning current and future relationships.

“The offender’s intentional risk taking of abusing the child by touching her over and under her clothing while others were present also created an additional level of harm for the child who believed her parents and other family members knew and condoned the abuse,” said Judge McKenzie at the sentencing in a Winnipeg courtroom May 5.

The victim assumed before going to police that family members knew about the abuse because they were often in Kornelson’s home at the time. There was no evidence that they did.

“The breach of trust has also harmed other members of the victim’s family,” said McKenzie.

In fact, the girl’s mother reported the crime on June 28, 2022 to Steinbach RCMP when her daughter told her what had happened. The assaults had only stopped in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to weekend and holiday visits to Kornelson’s home.

Kornelson was arrested the day after police were informed.

Psychologist David Hill later interviewed Kornelson. Dr. Hill specializes in forensic mental health assessments. While Hill did find Kornelson a low risk to reoffend, the judge did have some issues with the psychologist’s findings.

“Dr. Hill noted that Mr. Kornelson minimized the offending behaviour and that he indicated that some of the information the victim told the police was untrue. He denied having sexual attraction to the victim or other children,” said Judge McKenzie.

Kornelson admitted culpability after the psychologist showed him the police report.

“Unfortunately he struggled to identify any factors that led to his offending,” said McKenzie.

The judge took a moment to collect themself before summing up the assaults.

The victim said they started as far back as her memory went, which was at four years old. Kornelson pleaded guilty to committing the sexual assaults from Jan. 1, 2012 to Jan. 31, 2020.

The victim would visit Kornelson on weekends, holidays and birthdays.

“The victim and the offender would be in the living room area where the offender would place a blanket over the victim and touch her breast and vaginal areas over and under her clothing,” described the judge.

“It is unknown how many times this happened, but sufficed to say that the sexual assaults were numerous over an eight-year time span,” they added.

The victim said in her victim impact statement that she has become afraid of future intimate relationships, had difficulty sleeping, and at times feels suicidal.

“She has also acknowledged that harm this has caused the entire family because of the breach of trust,” said Judge McKenzie.

Kornelson was described in court as a productive member of society with no prior criminal record. He received letters of support from family and others. Now retired, he is well known in Steinbach for his work in business and charity.

Kornelson was employed as a loans manager at Steinbach Credit Union for 29 years until 1995, according to court documents. He was then an accountant.

Kornelson also served on the Steinbach MCC Thrift Shop board from 1974 to 2019, for a time serving as chair.

The judge said Kornelson’s advanced age and medical concerns including heart issues, type one diabetes and more were considered in sentencing. But they added that there were services for people in custody to help.

The judge quoted several past court cases while rendering his verdict, including the Peter Nygard case that saw the 83-year-old fashion businessman given an 11-year sentence last September for sexually assaulting four women in Toronto. The defence in that case also argued their client could not be properly taken care of in prison.

Judge McKenzie pointed out Kornelson can apply for temporary escorted or unescorted absences for medical exams and treatment. The parole board can also grant early parole if Kornelson was suffering unduly because of his imprisonment.

The judge added that generally sentences should not exceed a person’s lifespan under Canadian law.

“However, there is no such thing as a senior’s discount,” quoted Judge McKenzie from case law.

Kornelson was also ordered to have no contact with the victim or her mother.

The judge added a 10-year order that he not be in a position of trust with anyone under 16 years old. Kornelson also cannot have any contact in any way with anyone under 16 without supervision by an adult who is aware of the court order and this sexual assault conviction.

He also now has a 10-year weapons prohibition, and is on the sexual offender registry for 20 years.

Kornelson was then led out of the courtroom by two sheriff officers to start serving his sentence.