Crown calls for record prison sentences for parents in child abuse case

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The Crown is seeking what could be one of the longest sentences ever for similar crimes in the London area – and some of the longest ever recorded in Canada – for a couple convicted in a disturbing trial of child sexual and physical abuse.

Assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Moser said at a hearing Tuesday that they are seeking 30 years in prison for the father, 57, and 25 years for the mother, 55, for the abuse of her four children, now adults, who testified last spring were routinely treated brutally in their strict religious household.

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“Our community does not accept this behavior. Our country does not accept this behavior. “Our children must be protected, and if they are not, if they are hurt in the worst possible way, the punishment will reflect the crime,” Moser told Supreme Court Justice Thomas Heeney.

“This was a protracted, unrepentant campaign of abuse.”

The estranged couple were convicted last spring after a marathon jury trial in which four of their children described horrific physical, emotional and sexual abuse over a 19-year period in several Ontario cities where the family lived until the children’s expulsion in 2020 fled their London home.

“The perpetrators were the parents of the victims. “These victims had no safe haven, no parents to cling to, no one to keep the horrors at bay,” Moser said. “Our victims in this case also knew that they were not alone. Her siblings also suffered the same abuse. The only question was: whose turn it was tonight?”

The jury trial lasted nearly ten weeks and included testimony describing brutal sexual humiliation and torture of both parents.

While life at home was a harrowing nightmare for the children trying to protect each other from violence, the rest of the world saw a wealthy family with children involved in church, volunteer activities, work, and… Education was successful.

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The four children said their parents described the routine assaults as “consequences” for failing to meet parental standards. All income they earned went toward the family’s expenses. They were often beaten, tied up, or locked in sheds, closets, and basements without food or water. They were sexually assaulted and harassed.

The mother was convicted of 18 charges, including sexual assault, incest, forcible confinement, assault, administration of harmful substances and suffocation. The father was convicted of 15 counts, including multiple sexual assaults, forced confinement, extortion and incest.

The identity of the children and therefore also their parents is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

The victims testified remotely during the trial and were not in the courtroom for the verdict. Three of the four children wrote victim impact statements. Moser and Assistant Crown Attorney Heather Donkers read them into the record.

They spoke of chronic pain and migraines, post-traumatic stress disorder, permanent scars, sleepless nights and nightmares, loss of religious faith, and constant anxiety and fear. They all asked Heeney to make sure her parents never contacted her again.

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“I still don’t always feel safe in my own home. The years of mental and physical abuse from my parents stole my childhood and continues to impact my adult life,” one of them wrote.

“That wasn’t the childhood I deserved and it left me with wounds that I’m still trying to heal, wounds that may not heal,” wrote another.

Another added: “My parents were my first bullies, my first abusers and the people I needed protection from.”

Moser said the Crown was seeking a longer sentence for the father because he was the protagonist in many of the serious sexual assaults and the mother was often involved. The father also tried to keep the children away from his wife after their marriage failed and continued to attack her.

Both parents protested their innocence during the trial. None of them have a criminal record. Since her indictment in 2020, the mother has been out of custody and on bail for most of the time. Her defense attorney, Phillip Millar, argued for an 11½-year sentence, plus time served and house arrest. Taking bail into account, the sentence would be reduced to ten years.

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Millar told Heeney that the Crown’s high sentence was not supported by the jury’s findings and indicated an appeal was in the works.

“If you look at what (the mother) was convicted of, it is not one of the worst situations in the region. “That’s not nearly enough,” he said, adding he doubted a long sentence would send a message to child molesters.

Millar argued that his client’s testimony denying the crimes contradicted the children’s testimony. But Heeney reminded Millar that his client was found guilty by a unanimous jury. “Her guilt is not a controversial issue at the moment. It’s a legal fact.”

Millar said his client has the support of friends and neighbors. She is diabetic and the sentence proposed by the Crown “would result in her spending the rest of her life in prison.”

The father’s defense attorney, Victoria Strugurescu, argued for a prison sentence of 19 1/2 years. Taking into account his prison time, the sentence would be reduced to 15 years.

She told Heeney that her client was well-educated and highly respected by his colleagues. Friends described him as “a quiet, peaceful person,” “compassionate, personable and honest,” and “successful.”

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Both parents were given the opportunity to speak to the judge. The father decided not to say anything, but the mother had prepared remarks.

She tearfully told Heeney that she had always been a law-abiding citizen and didn’t know why her children made the allegations against her and their father. She admitted to being “too strict” with them and was “really, really sorry” for using hot sauce and soap to discipline them.

“With every breath I take, I maintain that I did not commit these acts against my children,” she said, and will respect the legal process “so that the truth will eventually come to light.”

She said she forgives the children and hopes to one day understand why they accused her.

“They are still my babies and I cherish the moments I remember with them,” she said. “Despite all the current circumstances, I can’t help but love her. I love her with all my heart and soul.”

“I didn’t do any of that,” she said.

Heeney’s sentencing is expected to be announced on November 4th.

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