Lawyers argue sentencing for man guilty of assaulting family

A B.C. man convicted of assaulting his wife and two of his children should spend two years less a day in jail, a prosecutor argued Friday.

The man, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban imposed to protect the victims, was found guilty in November of 12 criminal counts for attacks on his family over a 14-year period.

In sentencing submissions, Crown counsel Joseph Marin said aggravating factors in the case include some of the attacks on the man’s wife were in front of one or more of their children and persistent verbal abuse accompanied the assaults.

Marin told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown the accused deprived his family of the right to feel safe in their home.

In one attack, the accused punched his wife in the area of the liver, resulting in her experiencing pain for more than a year.

“This was a cowardly blow on a person in a defenceless position,” the prosecutor said.

On another occasion, the accused kicked one of his sons, who was eight or nine, in the stomach with sufficient force to knock him backwards.

Marin said a psychiatrist’s report demonstrated the accused completely lacks remorse for the violence.

The accused, who was a lawyer, has lost his job, the judge was told.

Marin noted a letter from a partner at the law firm that mentioned he used unacceptable language in addressing female staff and had to work at home at one point because of a perceived risk of altercation with staff.

In a victim-impact statement, the accused’s wife said she suffered emotionally, physically and economically.

“I’m still scared that he is going to try and destroy my life and take the children from me because that is what he told me he would do if I ever left him.”

Jeffrey Campbell, a lawyer for the accused, pointed to the “collateral consequences” of his client’s convictions, including his loss of a profession and contact with his children.

The defence lawyer noted the accused’s problems with substance abuse and that the assaults often happened while he was abusing alcohol.

And he noted his client’s longstanding and unattended mentalhealth problems.

Campbell called for a ninemonth jail term. The judge is expected to impose sentence March 2. kfraser@postmedia.com twitter.com/ keithrfraser