Sentence upheld for `street dad'

A man who was convicted in the deaths of two teenage girls has had his appeal of his indeterminate jail sentence dismissed.

In February 2013, Martin Daniel Tremblay was found guilty of two counts of criminal negligence causing death in relation to the deaths of a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl in March 2010.

Court heard that Tremblay, who was in his mid-40s, was a drug dealer who offered his home to atrisk youth, mainly First Nations teens, for the purpose of partying.

Tremblay, who was known to one of the victims as her “street dad,” provided gifts, alcohol, drugs and a cellphone to her, and she responded by inviting some of her friends to join her at Tremblay's home where he provided free drugs and alcohol.

He gave the two victims powdered methadone to snort, which they had never done before, resulting in them quickly passing out.

Tremblay then touched the girls sexually. One of the victims was found dead on a sidewalk in Burnaby and the other was found in Tremblay's residence. Tremblay, now 55, was declared a dangerous offender and jailed indefinitely.

On his appeal, which was focused on the indeterminate sentence, he argued that the trial judge had failed to properly consider the management of his risk to reoffend.

He argued that the indeterminate sentence should be replaced with a fixed term of 20 years in prison followed by a 10-year longterm supervision order. Tremblay also sought to introduce fresh evidence showing he had participated in programs in prison that had reduced his risk of reoffending.

But a three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal has rejected those arguments and dismissed Tremblay's appeal.

In his written reasons, Justice Patrice Abrioux found no errors had been committed by the trial judge and the sentence as a whole indicated the judge had paid careful consideration to Tremblay's risk assessment and treatment prospects. Justices Anne Mackenzie and Richard Goepel agreed.