Victim’s daughter calls peace bond ‘slap on the wrist’

Man who exposed himself to seniors likely to reoffend, says city woman

A Saskatoon woman says Donald Glenn Richardson took advantage of her elderly mother when he exposed his genitals to her in the bathroom of her care-home suite.

The woman, who cannot be identified because her mother’s identity is subject to a court-ordered publication ban, said Richardson knew her mother likely wouldn’t remember the incident due to her dementia.

On Jan. 13, Richardson admitted in Saskatoon provincial court that he “caused fear” to the woman and her friend by exposing himself to them. There wasn’t enough evidence to proceed with a sexual assault charge, so the Crown consented to a peace bond, an order intended to keep Richardson away from the victims and other vulnerable seniors.

In an interview with the Saskatoon Starphoenix, the daughter of the 79-year-old woman said Richardson knew some of her family members and would occasionally take her mother out for coffee. She said she initially thought it was nice, even though her mother does not remember Richardson.

“He basically started coming around when my dad died and she was by herself,” the woman said, adding that she also used to work with Richardson, who delivers gift baskets, sometimes to care homes.

She said she was visiting her mother when Richardson dropped by the Stonebridge Crossing Retirement Home, without signing in, on March 13, 2019.

She later got a call from a staff member who caught Richardson with his pants down in a washroom with her mother and her mother’s friend.

“My stomach just dropped,” the woman said, adding that the carehome worker’s diligence that day potentially stopped things from going further.

Richardson told Judge Leslie Matsalla that the women barged in on him while he was urinating. The daughter said Richardson called her after the incident to tell her this, saying he left the door unlocked out of urgency.

“That’s just ridiculous,” the woman recalled thinking. “Had that bathroom door been shut, my mother and that other woman would have forgotten he was there.”

She said it’s a frustrating situation because her mother can’t be a reliable witness.

“Unfortunately, when police interviewed her, she went into a very childlike state and they weren’t able to get anything out of her,” the daughter said.

Richardson was on probation during the care-home incident. He was sentenced in 2017 to a six-month jail term followed by two years of probation for sexual assault. Court records show Richardson also received a six-month conditional sentence in 1998 for possessing child pornography.

According to a Starphoenix article from February 1998, Richardson, who was a real estate agent at the time, pleaded guilty to possessing 1,500 child pornography images. He argued he was searching for photos taken during his childhood abuse.

Considering his criminal history, the woman said she doesn’t believe the peace bond will keep Richardson from reoffending, calling it a “slap on the wrist.”

Crown prosecutor Leslie Dunning said a peace bond was the best option: Richardson couldn’t be charged with indecent exposure because the incident happened in a private bathroom, not a public place. He also couldn’t be charged with exploitation of a vulnerable person because he wasn’t in a position of trust or authority.

Richardson’s 12-month peace bond order bans him from being at care homes, nursing homes and any other places that house “vulnerable people” for 12 months. He also cannot contact the victims or their families, and must take sex offender programming and psychological treatment as required by a probation officer.

If he breaches his conditions, he could be criminally charged.