Sex assault on sleeping woman nets two years

A Westphal man hugged his partner and two young children and said goodbye before he entered Halifax provincial court Thursday for sentencing on a charge of sexual assault.

Joshua Paul McRae, 30, was found guilty of the charge at trial this spring for having sexual intercourse with a former girlfriend while she was sleeping in April 2014.

Judge Gregory Lenehan accepted a joint recommendation from lawyers for a two-year prison sentence.

After he was arrested, McRae told police he had simply wanted to fulfil the woman’s fantasy — divulged to him by another person — of waking up to an orgasm.

The judge said that motivation was no excuse for the conduct and did not diminish McRae’s responsibility for the impact on the victim.

“You took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself without taking any reasonable steps to ascertain whether the victim was aware and was consenting,” Lenehan said.

“You gave no thought or consideration to her personal integrity and her right to choose where, when and with whom she would . . . engage in sexual activity. It’s not for you or anybody else to make that decision for her.”

The judge said it’s hard to know how frequently sexual assaults are committed on unconscious victims by friends or acquaintances.

The identity of the complainant, a Halifax woman, is protected by a publication ban.

Crown attorney Jamie Van Wart said the woman was in a vulnerable state when she was assaulted on April 5, 2014.

“She was asleep ... and had been drinking alcohol,” Van Wart said. “It also happened in her home in her own bed, which is a place where anyone should feel that they are safe.”

Although McRae minimized the offence in comments to the author of a presentence report, Van Wart said the victim suffered significant consequences.

“I’m sorry for what happened,” McRae told the court. “It will never happen again.”

The judge ordered McRae to provide a DNA sample for a national databank and register as a sex offender for 20 years after he gets out of prison. McRae also will be prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years.