PEIA 41-year-old Charlottetown man was sentenced to more than a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to endangering and threatening his son by coming close to dropping the child from the third storey of an apartment building. Man was charged in July after neighbours reported he dangled 8-year-old over balconyStephen Brun · CBC News · Posted: Dec 01, 2025 6:28 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The 41-year-old was charged in July after concerned neighbours reported to police that the man was seen dangling a child over a third-storey balcony. (CBC)A 41-year-old Charlottetown man was sentenced to more than a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to endangering and threatening his son by coming close to dropping the child from the third storey of an apartment building. The man was charged back in July after Charlottetown police said they received a call from a concerned resident about an assault at a downtown home. The caller also reported that a man was seen dangling a child over a third-storey balcony, according to a news release at the time.In provincial court on Monday, the accused appeared virtually from the Provincial Correctional Centre, where he has been since he was arrested that evening. He entered guilty pleas to charges of child endangerment, threatening a child and assaulting another adult who was there at the time. ‘I could throw you off’Crown prosecutor Jacqueline MacMillan told the court that a couple of neighbours witnessed the man’s dangerous behaviour that night and called police. Reading from an agreed statement of facts, MacMillan said the neighbours saw the man stagger to the edge of a balcony while highly intoxicated with his eight-year-old son on his shoulders.They also told police they heard him say, “I could throw you off.” The neighbours yelled for him to stop, as the child was screaming and crying. They said the boy grabbed onto his father’s shoulders when the older man’s hand slipped from him. If something like this doesn’t make you go straight and sober for the rest of your life, I don’t know what will.- Judge Jeff LantzMacMillan said the man did come off the third-floor roof area, but then fell down a set of stairs with the child in his arms, landing on top of him. The man then challenged his neighbour to a fight. The neighbour was eventually able to hold him down until police came, while another bystander comforted the boy and another child who was present at the time.Speaking to Judge Jeff Lantz on Monday, the man clarified that he was standing on a flat roof with no railing on the third floor of the apartment building when the incident took place. Chief Provincial Court Judge Jeff Lantz sentenced the man to 365 days in jail for endangering his child. (CBC)In sentencing the man, Lantz described him as a significant threat to his child. “If something like this doesn’t make you go straight and sober for the rest of your life, I don’t know what will,” Lantz said. “You’re lucky he wasn’t killed.”The man apologized to the neighbours who witnessed his actions. He said he loves his children, and plans to get help for mental health and addictions issues. The court heard that the two children would be going into foster care. After receiving credit for the time he’s already served in custody, the man will spend 166 days in jail and will be on probation for two years after his sentence is complete.ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen Brun is the copy editor for digital news at CBC Prince Edward Island. A graduate of UPEI and Holland College, he has been a writer and editor for a number of newspapers and websites across Canada for nearly two decades. You can reach him at stephen.brun@cbc.ca.With files from Laura Meader
Charlottetown man gets jail time for endangering son on 3rd-floor rooftop
