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Man jailed for assaulting boy

A 20-year-old Central Alberta man was jailed six months on Wednesday for sexually assaulting a young boy.

A 20-year-old Central Alberta man was jailed six months on Wednesday for sexually assaulting a young boy.

Ryan Bruce Wilton will also serve two and a half years on probation after he’s released from jail, Red Deer provincial court heard.

Judge Jim Mitchell called the breach of trust “degenerate, perverse and degrading.”

“The circumstances surrounding your crime are particularly grievous,” the judge said.

A publication ban prohibits any information from being released that could identify the victim, such as the community.

Wilton is not related to the victim.

Wilton pleaded guilty in June but sentencing was delayed to allow for the preparation of various reports, including those by a psychiatrist and a probation officer.

The crime was committed in a rural community near Red Deer earlier in the year against the boy, who was less than 12 years old.

A charge of sexual interference was withdrawn by the Crown.

Court heard the crime has devastated the boy and his family.

The boy’s mother said the “family feels completely lost” and doesn’t trust anyone.

She said her son has expressed suicidal thoughts.

“It makes me feel like I don’t want to be alive anymore,” the boy’s statement said. It was read by a Red Deer sexual assault centre employee.

The boy said he has to take pills for depression and they upset his stomach.

He said he has angry outbursts at school when he thinks of what happened to him.

Court heard the psychiatric report indicates Wilton is classified as a “moderate risk” to re-offend.

Wilton must also surrender a sample of his DNA to authorities and his name will be placed on a national sex offender registry for 10 years.

jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com