A man was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually interfering with his young stepdaughter.

Warning: This story may contain details that some readers will find disturbing. The Regina and Area Sexual Assault Center’s crisis line can be reached at 306-352-0434 or toll-free at 1-844-952-0434.

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A man was convicted in a Regina courtroom last month of sexually abusing his stepdaughter over a three-year period.

Court documents refer to the man only as J.S. to protect the victim’s identity.

J.S. was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual interference, but since a person cannot be convicted of two crimes for the same act, known as Kienapple principle — He was granted a deferred trial on charges of sexual assault.

Judge K.A. Lang wrote that the charge of sexual interference is a more accurate and complete explanation of the crime in this case because it involves an admission that the crime was committed against a child.

In his decision, Lang explained that the abuse continued for three years, when the victim was between nine and 11 years old, and J.S. – from 28 to 30 years.

In her highly emotional testimony, the victim recalled five incidents ranging from kissing and touching to specific aggressive sexual acts. When asked how long each episode would last, the victim told the court that “each time seemed like an eternity,” according to court documents.

JC was her stepfather at the time and lived in the same house. The judge’s ruling said JS groomed the victim and that the activity became increasingly egregious over time, with him telling her to keep it a secret and saying things like “let’s try this once.”

The victim told the court the attacks left her feeling rude, disgusted and ashamed of herself. She said she was afraid of JS, that she didn’t tell anyone because she was afraid her family would fall apart, and that she didn’t know what to do about it because “I was just a kid.”

The victim sought counseling due to the incident.

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Crown lawyers asked for an eight-year prison sentence, while defense lawyers asked for five years.

The judge imposed an eight-year prison sentence with a number of additional orders such as 20 years on the sex offenders register and a ban on J.S. work with children or be left alone with children after release.

In his decisions, Lang wrote that J.S. had five previous convictions, including one for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. A pre-sentencing report was written and the judge wrote that Gladu’s factors were present, but they were not as severe as many of those he had seen and did not appear to have had a significant external impact on JS.

In describing how the abuse affected the victim, the judge wrote that it still affected her for a long time, that she suffered emotional breakdowns, stopped pursuing her hobbies, distanced herself from others and lost motivation to study.

“What happened to (the victim) will likely be an emotional life sentence for her, and while she may heal from it over time, I am confident that she will never forget it,” the judge wrote in his decision.

Judge Lang also reviewed several similar cases and said the facts of this case were on par with or worse than all the cases he summarized. The range of punishments for these cases ranged from five to 10 years.

At the time of sentencing, J.S. He had already spent about five months in custody – he received credit for time served, and he will spend about another seven years and four months in prison.

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