15 years for brutal rape of former wife
Last Updated: 22nd August 2009, 11:04am
It took all of two minutes yesterday to sentence a former Winnipeg police sergeant to 15 years in jail for the "degrading, demeaning and humiliating" rape of his ex-wife.
Queen's Bench Chief Justice Marc Monnin sentenced the 25-year officer yesterday to 15 years for break and enter to commit an aggravated sexual assault, 10 years concurrent for unlawful confinement, and two years concurrent for wearing a disguise. The charges were in relation to a July 2008 attack in which the man broke into his ex-wife's house and brutalized her for two hours.
The attack had been so premeditated the man -- who cannot be named to protect his ex-wife's identity -- warned a former police colleague it might happen and even prepared a list of items he'd bought in anticipation of the attack, including a camera he admitted to using to take photos of the incident as keepsakes.
The man and the victim were legally divorced in September 2007.
At the time of the attack, the man had already been arrested at least five times for breaching court orders he have no contact with the woman but was granted bail every time.
Flurry of whispers
More than 50 people packed into one of the largest courtrooms at the Winnipeg law courts complex yesterday to hear Monnin's decision.
The 53-year-old accused, wearing a blue suit and looking tired, said nothing as he was ushered in by sheriffs, although his entrance brought a flurry of whispers from the crowd -- which included Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill.
Monnin did not read out any of his 23-page decision, listing only the man's charges and the sentence he was delivering for each count.
It took less than two minutes for Monnin to hand down the decision.
The man left the court room just as silently as he'd arrived.
The sentences will run concurrently for a total of 15 years. Monnin credited the man two years and two months for time served, leaving him 12 years and 10 months left on his sentence. The Crown had been asking for up to 17 years, while the defence had proposed eight to 10.
No one in attendance at the hearing agreed to comment publicly following yesterday's sentencing.
The man pleaded guilty earlier this year, admitting he left his two young children sleeping at his apartment and then broke into his ex-wife's Charleswood home where he tied the woman up and repeatedly sexually assaulted her over the course of two hours. The woman managed to call 911 and police arrested the man at the scene.
Following his arrest, the man told police he was incapable of having sex and admitted to raping the woman with a sex toy. The man said he had been planning the attack for more than a week and wore a disguise so the woman wouldn't recognize him.
'Anger and rage'
In his written decision, Monnin called the attack "degrading, demeaning and humiliating."
"The accused went to his former spouse's home that evening with the intention of sexually abusing her, to cause her as much terror as he could, to leave her in a state of shock, to cause her physical harm and mental anguish," Monnin wrote. "He did so out of anger and rage."
paul.turenne@sunmedia.ca
The accused is typical of those who commit such despicable crimes of terror.
He has very obviously, an extreme personality disorder and or a mental health
problem.
What is disturbing in this case is that he was for many years, a police officer.
It begs the question of what double life he lived previously, and no doubt his
former wife's court documents are full of the warning signs of a problem going
to happen.
Even more disturbing is the attendance at court of his police chief and that
begs the question as to his suitability to remain chief.
If you speak to those who really understand the problems of abuse against women,
you will repeatedly hear that some of the worst abusers against women are in
fact, police officers.