Man pleads guilty to assault and breaching release orders

A man received a 12-month suspended sentence with supervised probation after pleading guilty to assault and four breaches of his release conditions in Steinbach provincial court on Oct. 9.

According to the Crown, he was charged with assault on Jan. 23 for punching his partner in the face after getting into an argument over their children, leaving her right eye swollen. He also tried to prevent her from calling 911 by grabbing her from behind.

Court heard that Steinbach RCMP received multiple 911 calls on Jan. 23 reporting a domestic assault. The Crown said the victim had escaped with her children to a neighbour’s home to call 911.

The accused was arrested later that evening and released on an undertaking with conditions prohibiting him from contacting his partner. However, police found him sitting in a vehicle outside her residence Jan. 29, violating those conditions.

The judge accepted a joint sentencing recommendation from the Crown and defence, imposing concurrent 12-month suspended sentences with supervised probation for the assault and the breach that happened in January.

He was also fined $200 for breaching his release conditions in February.

Court heard that in February, he made repeated phone calls to his partner, attended one of their children’s schools and was found in Steinbach despite a release order prohibiting him from entering the city. Police also found several knives and a hatchet in his vehicle following his arrest.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of knives and the hatchet seized by police in February, along with additional knives seized during a curfew check in July.

The judge imposed one-day jail sentences on each count for breaches in February and July. However, he was not required to go to jail because his court appearance that day satisfied the sentences. The judge explained the two one-day sentences would still appear on his criminal record as jail sentences.

Under his probation conditions, he must have no direct or indirect contact with his partner and cannot attend her home, workplace, school or place of worship, unless ordered by a court. The exception was included because family court proceedings are ongoing.

The accused must report to probation services within two business days and participate in counselling or assessments as directed.

The judge warned him that another breach of a court order could result in a jail sentence.

In a victim impact statement read in court, his partner described the emotional toll of the assault and repeated breaches.

She said she experienced anxiety, frequently checked outside her apartment and feared encountering him when leaving home. She told the court she had also been receiving counselling.

The accused told the court he wanted to maintain a relationship with his children.

The Crown also told the court that he had a previous criminal record dating to April 2013, involving a breach of a recognizance and a domestic assault of a different person for which he had received a 12-month suspended sentence with supervised probation on both counts.