Former Mountie sentenced to 15 years for torturing his son

Police investigators watched and tearfully celebrated Wednesday as a former RCMP counter-terrorism officer who tortured and starved his son in the basement of his family’s suburban Ottawa home was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The sentence marked the end of what Justice Robert Maranger called a “horrific” case involving “the worst kind of abuse” inflicted on a boy who was 11 years old when he was found by a neighbour after having escaped his captivity in February 2013.

The man, who cannot be identified under a court order protecting his son’s identity, was convicted in November of two counts of aggravated assault, one each of sexual assault causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement, assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life, and a range of firearms offences.

“What happened to the victim was outrageous,” Maranger said just prior to handing down the sentence.

After time already served, the 45-year-old faces 13 years and two months in prison. But he could be paroled sooner.

In one final message to his father, the boy issued a stinging condemnation. He said he hoped the man who was supposed to be his caregiver finally realized the pain that he caused.

The boy also said he now feels love in his life.

“He always used to tell me that two and two equals four,” the boy said of his father in a written statement read aloud in court.