Farmer jailed for sex assault

A Pleasant Valley farmer who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in his kitchen was sentenced Friday to 90 days in jail.

Elmer Franklin Weeks, 68, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after finding him guilty in August on one count of sexual assault.

As she read her decision Friday, Orr said the sentence, which Weeks will serve on weekends, would allow him to carry on farming operations and not have a negative impact on his family members who are innocent victims in the case.

The sentencing came months after Weeks pleaded not guilty and took the matter to trial where the victim testified she was alone with him at Weeksdale Holsteins farm when he sexually assaulted her.

The victim testified Weeks touched several parts of her body, including her vaginal area through her pants, along with her breast and thighs.

She told the court Weeks asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to the bedroom with him.

In her decision Friday, Orr said interfering with a person’s bodily integrity is a serious matter.

Orr said what Weeks did was not a “trifling or insignificant” matter and it was clear from a victim impact statement that it had a big impact on the woman.

During the trial, Weeks didn’t testify and Orr said there is no evidence before the court to show what might have led him to commit the offence.

Orr said Weeks maintains he is innocent and did nothing wrong.

A pre-sentence report and many letters of support also state the belief Weeks is innocent, Orr said.

She also said what Weeks and his family need to understand is that her finding of guilt was based on the evidence presented during the trial.

Weeks was given the opportunity to address the court before hearing his sentence but declined to do so.

Orr noted he had no prior criminal record, he has the support of his family and he has been a contributing member of the community his whole life.

But Orr said Weeks has not acknowledged his guilt or the harm the victim says she suffered.

Along with the jail time, Weeks will be on probation for 18 months with conditions that include no contact with the victim unless his probation officer consents.

Weeks must also provide a DNA sample for the national databank and he will be on the sex offender registry for 10 years.