A Central Alberta man has been sentenced to a federal jail term for prolonged sexual assaults against his three daughters.
The 59-year-old, who can’t be identified under a court-imposed publication ban, was jailed for four and a half years on Monday in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench.
The man was convicted on two counts of sexual assault and three counts of committing indecent acts.
The man, who continued to deny most of the events heard during a summer trial, was convicted on June 18. Sentencing was adjourned to allow for a pre-sentence report.
He was credited with 50 days in jail for pre-sentence custody while a psychiatric assessment was performed. The assessment found that the accused is a low risk to re-offend.
The offences first occurred when the girls were between the ages of five and 16 and happened between August 1977 and January 1989.
Justice Monica Bast said the fact the man’s “refusal to acknowledge the impact on his daughters is disturbing.”
She said the assaults weren’t isolated. They occurred over a lengthy period, with one daughter suffering abuse for 10 years.
The women all said in their victim impact statements that they had suffered emotionally, physically and psychologically since their childhoods.
Bast said the accused displayed no remorse in the pre-sentence report and still holds grudges against the police and the criminal justice system.
When asked if he had anything to say, the man defended himself, saying the events only occurred during a three-year period and not to the extent heard at trial by the victims. He said two of the daughters “exaggerated their testimony.”
He said he never touched his girls once they were older than nine.
Crown prosecutor Anders Quist argued for a sentence of five years.
Defence lawyer Lorne Goddard said a sentence of one and a half to two years would suffice, followed by probation.
The man, who had no criminal record, must also surrender a sample of his DNA and his name is placed on a Canada-wide sex offender registry for 20 years.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com