“I trusted him and he hurt me. That’s really hard to live with,” says teenaged survivorPublished Sep 09, 20256 minute readProvincial Court in Atlantic Place in St. John’s, where Chief Judge Robin Fowler issued his sentence Monday, Sept. 8 2025. Photo by Keith Gosse/The TelegramArticle contentEditor’s note: Some readers may be disturbed by the details of this storyTHIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentThere are dates that changed the world forever — Aug. 6 and 9, 1945: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nov. 9, 1989: the fall of the Berlin Wall. Sept. 11, 2001: the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. Dec. 1, 2019: the first documented case of COVID-19. Article contentArticle contentDates the world looks back on and recognizes things were different because of them. Article contentArticle contentA St. John’s-area mom who took the witness stand in provincial court in June said she and her loved ones have their own life-altering date: July 12, 2024. Article contentNo global catastrophe occurred on that day, she said. There was no widespread event to trigger international headlines. Article contentIt was the day, however, that a bomb was dropped on her family, irreparably ripping it apart and causing devastation to last a lifetime. Article contentThe woman, referred to in court documents as M for “mom,” presented the court with some numbers. They aren’t found in any of the police reports or legal arguments, she said, but they are numbers that have been cemented in her life. Article contentThere’s 2,783 — the number of ceiling tile holes she counted in the room at the Janeway while accompanying her distraught 13-year-old daughter for a rape exam. Article contentAnd 33 — the number of minutes it took M to find her daughter, who had run outside in pyjamas and bare feet in the middle of winter after saying she no longer wanted to live.Article contentArticle contentSix — the average number of times M gets up in the night to check the locks on her doors and make sure her children are OK.Article contentArticle contentOne million — the number of times M has blamed herself for trauma that was not her fault, by any means. She told the court she lives with guilt for not somehow recognizing what was going on behind her back. Article content“We are broken in ways that can’t be quantified in sentencing terms or measured in jail time,” M said, describing the devastating ways her life and that of her children have changed because of her ex-partner’s crimes. Article content“This is our sentence. And it’s for life.” Article contentOn Monday, Sept. 8, provincial court Chief Judge Robin Fowler referenced the woman’s powerful statement as he added another digit to the list. Article contentFourteen: the number of years M’s former spouse — the biological father of her daughter — is sentenced to spend behind bars for incest and sexual interference. Article contentIt’s believed to be a precedent-setting sentencing decision in Newfoundland and Labrador, handed down for crimes that caused exceptional harm, the judge noted, by a man with poor prospects of rehabilitation and a high likelihood to reoffend. Article contentYears of sexual abuseArticle contentFowler referred to the man as X while delivering his sentence, since the offender’s identity is banned from publication to protect that of his daughter, referred to in the decision as V for “victim.” Article contentX appeared in the courtroom by video from prison, where he has been held since his arrest just over a year ago. Article contentM had returned home for lunch one day without telling X in advance, and had opened a bedroom door to discover him sexually assaulting their daughter. Article contentM screamed. X told her he was giving the child a backrub. Article contentM took her children, left the house, and called the police. Article contentShe and her daughter, who is neurodivergent, gave statements to the police. Article contentArticle contentV told an RNC investigator her father had been sexually abusing her since she was about seven years old, and described him as having started raping her when she was 11 or 12. Article contentShe said she had yelled at him to stop and kicked him in the face. Article contentShe told police she and X would often fight over it, with him getting mad and yelling at her every time she said no. She said her father would beg her and choose her as his favourite over her sibling, leading up to the assaults. Article contentX gave her weed and weed candy, and she told the investigator she felt at one point she nearly overdosed because she had taken too much. Article contentShe disclosed that X had told her he would be in major trouble if she told anyone what he was doing to her. Article contentPolice found accused hiding in garageArticle contentLater the same day, the RNC arrived at the residence to look for X and found him hidden under a pile of blankets on a mattress in a garage alcove. He left the garage with police, then yelled at the officers to get away from him while trying to fight them. Article contentArticle contentForensic testing later revealed DNA on a vaginal swab collected from V at the Janeway matched that of X. Article contentThe 48-year-old man pleaded guilty to the two criminal charges, and his lawyer, Kathy Moulton, told the court he was remorseful and didn’t want to force his daughter to testify at trial. Article contentA pre-sentencing report assessed X as being at a high risk of reoffending. It noted he has struggled with drug addiction for at least 30 years and has completed every treatment program offered to him while serving prior jail sentences for break-ins, theft and escaping custody. He has not been able to overcome his addiction. Article content‘He shows little insight into the damage he has caused’Article contentThe judge expressed concern with X’s attitude towards his crimes and his mischaracterization of his relationship with his daughter as a good one. Article content“He continually blames his drug addictions for having been the cause of the abuse,” Fowler said. Article content“Despite saving the victim from having to testify, he has a perception of his relationship with her that is difficult to balance with the agreed statement of facts. Article content“Despite the guilty plea, I am concerned that he shows little insight into the damage he has caused.” Article contentYoung survivor addresses courtArticle contentV’s insight into the damage her father has caused was made clear through a statement she wrote for the court, read aloud by prosecutor Nicole Hurley. Article contentShe wrote of experiencing flashbacks, nausea, anxiety and engaging in self-harm. She said she feels sick a lot, is more introverted, and cares less about school than she used to. Article contentShe wrote of feeling like she is living outside her body. Article contentShe wrote of wanting to feel safe again, “like a normal kid who isn’t afraid all the time.” Article contentArticle content“The worst part is that he was my dad,” she wrote. “He was supposed to protect me. I trusted him, and he hurt me. That’s really hard to live with. I feel betrayed.” Article contentThe judge stressed X’s biological relationship to the child and his position of trust over her, as well as the girl’s neurodivergence, which increased her vulnerability. Article contentHe noted X had abused V for years, in her own home, beginning at a very young age, and that X had manipulated her to conceal the abuse and provided her with cannabis. Article contentHe recognized what he called the “incredible harm” caused to V and her family. Article contentJudge makes an exceptional orderArticle contentThe judge did accept X had endured some overly harsh conditions at HMP, but did not grant his request for double remand credit for the year he has been behind bars. Fowler granted him remand credit at a rate of time-and-a-half, leaving X with 12 years and three months left to serve in prison. Article contentArticle contentFowler also ordered X to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, and took the unusual step of ordering a lifetime 161 order, a prohibition order placing strict restrictions on those convicted of sexual violence against children. Article contentA 161 lasting a lifetime is not typical, and is reserved for offenders deemed to pose an ongoing significant risk to youth.Article contentFor the rest of his life, X is banned from having any contact with youth without adult supervision; visiting public parks, swimming areas, schoolgrounds and other places youth are likely to be present, and working or volunteering in any capacity that involves a position of trust over youth. Article contentHe’s also banned from ever being within two kilometres of anywhere V lives, goes to school, or works. Article content
NL man sentenced to 14 years for sexual violence against young daughter
