A former Red Deer man who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four girls, including his adopted daughter, feared he was losing his fight to control his sexual urges when he sought help in Ontario in 2007.
The 52-year-old man, who can’t be named to protect the identities of his victims, was in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench Tuesday on the first of a two-day hearing to determine if he should be considered a long-term offender.
A long-term offender receives a jail sentence and two to 10 years of court-ordered supervision.
The man’s offences occurred in communities south of Red Deer between 1995 and 2005. The ages of the victims ranged from six to about 13 and included nieces as well as other girls.
Dr. Nasood Nasri, a psychiatrist who treated the man in Ontario, said he first came to the attention of doctors when he went to a walk-in clinic complaining of suicidal thoughts in January 2007. He admitted he had been diagnosed as a pedophile while in Calgary and spent several months getting treatment and counselling for his sexual urges. He also received drugs to reduce his sexual impulses.
He was released in April and continued to get treatment but when he feared losing control of his urges he was back in hospital again in October 2007. He remained there until April 2008 when he was arrested after admitting sexually abusing the girls.
He was returned to Alberta the same month and has remained in prison since.
Nasri said a number of treatments were tried on the man with little success and he continued to show “very disturbing symptoms.” Efforts to find space for him in specialized treatment programs also failed.
The man continued to speak of his ongoing sexual fantasies and would get aroused by images of young girls on television. He was diagnosed with voyeurism, pedophilia and major depressive disorder.
Defence lawyer Patty MacNaughton asked Dr. Curtis Woods, a psychiatrist who assessed the man in Edmonton, whether age would reduce his urges.
Woods said there is some evidence in psychiatric literature that age can lead to a decline in deviant sexual behaviour for some.
The man was examined at Alberta Hospital Edmonton last year to consider whether it was appropriate to have him declared a dangerous or long-term offender. Psychiatric staff recommended long-term offender status.
Crown prosecutor Anders Quist and MacNaughton previously told Justice Andrea Moen they had agreed on the amount of time the man will serve in prison. But it will be up to Moen to decide if he should be considered a long-term offender and how long the sentence should be.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com