Man pleads guilty for sexually assaulting sleeping girlfriend

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This article was published 19/09/2024 (235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man has pleaded guilty to a series of sexual assaults he committed while a teenager against his girlfriend as she slept.

The victim and the offender met in high school three years ago when she was 17-and-a-half years old and he was 18, they became a couple with intimate relations. On several occasions, the victim would fall asleep in the offender’s bedroom whereupon the offender would take off the victim’s clothes and have sex with her while she slept.

There is a publication ban on the use of identifiers in this case to protect the victim.

Crown attorney Jonathan Mays asked Judge Antonio Cellitti to impose a five-and-a-half year jail sentence, to have the man register as a sex offender, a weapons prohibition, for him to provide a DNA sample, and for there to be a non-communication order with the victim while in custody.

“The Crown would submit to you that denunciation and deterrence are paramount,” said Mays.

“It is important and the Crown will acknowledge that (the offender) indicates…that he’s ashamed by his behaviour which would suggest that he’s demonstrating some insight to what occurred. He indicated, ‘All I can do is take responsibility now.’ He indicated that he was sorry for what he did and then…(the offender) was assessed as a very low risk for reinvolvement while being assessed as average risk for reoffending sexually.”

Defense counsel Alan Libbman said the offender was a youth when he committed the sexual assault and that his knowledge of healthy relationships and consent was limited. He said the offender had early exposure to pornography and that he had difficulty in school and was diagnosed with a learning disability. Libbman said the offender had no criminal record and that he comes from a supportive family who can help in his rehabilitation.

Libbman cited the pre-sentencing report that details the offender as saying, “I don’t know what drove me to do that and I can’t forgive myself for what I did.”

He asked the judge to have the offender serve two years in the community with a 24 hour curfew, 240 hours of community service, mandatory counseling, no contact with the victim, and several years of supervised probation.

“It is a sentence that balances denunciation, general deterrence, and rehabilitation,” said Libbman.

The offender told the judge he was very remorseful and he was sorry for making his family worry.

“The pain that they felt for this whole situation I’m truly sorry for. I’m ashamed of my actions and the harm that I’ve caused to the victim.”

The woman in the case gave no victim impact statement.

Cellitti decided to reserve his verdict for a later date.