An indigenous man was sentenced to 90 days intermittent custody for assaulting partner’s child with ODD; Gladue factors significantly reduced sentence from Crown’s 9-month request.
In R v Peter-Hogan, 2024 ABCJ 105, the accused pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm against his common-law partner’s 7 year old son, who had Oppositional Defiance Disorder.
The accused struck the victim multiple times in the face, kicked him in the thigh causing visible bruising for up to 10 days, forced him to consume hot sauce, made him stand barefoot on a milk crate, and grabbed him by the collar against a wall. The abuse was discovered by the victim’s older sister during bathing.
The court applied Gladue factors, finding the accused’s moral responsibility significantly diminished due to his traumatic Indigenous background including residential school effects on his mother, childhood abuse, FASD, multiple foster placements, and substance abuse exposure.
Despite the Crown seeking 9 months jail, the court imposed 90 days intermittent custody plus 30 months probation with conditions including no contact with the victim, mandatory counselling for domestic violence, parenting, substance abuse, and anger management.
Defence counsel Rory Ziv represented the accused throughout the proceedings, advocating for either a suspended sentence or conditional sentence order, ultimately achieving a significantly reduced custodial sentence.
