E.P. was charged with three counts of assault related to incidents involving his two young children. In one incident, it was alleged that after one child refused to stay in bed, E.P. chased him back into his bedroom, pinned him to the bed and repeatedly attempted to spank him. The incident ended when E.P.’s wife yelled at him to stop. In another incident, it was alleged that one child disobeyed his mother by refusing to go to bed. E.P. chased the child into his room, put him over his knee and spanked him multiple times, resulting in redness on his buttocks. In the last incident, one child continued to swear despite being told to stop. E.P. covered the child’s mouth with his hand to the point he had a difficult time breathing. The child ran into the bathroom and E.P. kicked at him and grabbed him by the shoulders multiple times. The child fell into the toilet dispenser roll and suffered minor injuries.
The allegations were made to police at the exact time E.P. and his wife separated. After reviewing the disclosure, Cory found significant inconsistencies in the children’s statements to police and very concerning language suggesting the children may have been coached. E.P. denied the more serious allegations, but agreed that in disciplining his children, he used more force than was required. Under section 43 of the Criminal Code, a parent is allowed to use force on their children by way of correction as long as that force did not exceed what was reasonable in the circumstances. E.P. agreed that the force used was not reasonable.
As a result of the issues Cory found in the complainants’ statements to police, the Crown agreed to the defence version of events by way of Agreed Statement of Facts. Cory was also able to negotiate a guilty plea to one count of assault rather than the three he was charged with. At sentencing, the Crown was seeking a conviction and potential jail time. Cory argued for a conditional discharge which means that though E.P. pled guilty, he would not be convicted of the offence. E.P.’s employment required him to have high security clearance in Canada and the USA. If E.P. was convicted, he would lose his career and face possible jail time.
After lengthy submissions, the sentencing judge agreed with Cory and discharged E.P. conditionally. As a result, E.P. was left with no criminal record for the incident and maintained his employment which was the best possible outcome.
