Violent sex offender’s sentence reduced by Alberta Court of Appeal

A violent offender who raped a teenage girl after choking her unconscious, has had his lengthy sentence reduced by more than 21/2 years.

In a unanimous decision released Thursday, a three-member Alberta Court of Appeal panel said the 10-year term handed Daniel Christopher Mahon last November was excessive.

The high court ruled Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Earl Wilson erred when he didn’t consider Mahon’s troubled upbringing a mitigating factor in sentencing.

And the appeal judges also said Wilson should have given Mahon enhanced credit for the 17 months he spent on remand before being sentenced.

Wilson sentenced Mahon to five years for sexual assault causing bodily harm and an additional five for choking to overcome resistance after finding the city man guilty.

The judge said that 10 years would be reduced by the 17 months Mahon spent in custody leading up to his sentencing.

But the appeal judges agreed with Mahon that a total sentence of 10 years was unduly harsh.

Mahon’s victim, 17, was hoping to obtain drugs and alcohol from him on April 6, 2013. When she entered the woman’s washroom in a deserted downtown office tower he followed her, cornered her and choked her unconscious before having sexual intercourse with her.

The appeal judges said despite the gratuitous violence, Mahon’s upbringing, which included physical abuse at the hands of his parents, had to be taken into account.

“While there is no question that the factual matrix reveals a profound disregard for the integrity and well-being of the complainant and unconscionable preference for self-gratification at the expense of a vulnerable young girl, it cannot be said that the sentencing judge properly assessed moral blameworthiness in light of the appellant’s mitigating personal circumstances,” they wrote.

“Mindful of those considerations, we find that the global sentence in the case at bar is excessive.”

The appeal court reduced the choking sentence to three years, making Mahon’s total term eight years instead of 10.

The judges also said Wilson didn’t take into consideration the conditions Mahon faced while at the Calgary Remand Centre, which included being triple bunked and having problems with other inmates.

They said he should have been given 1.5 months credit for every one of the 17 he served, for a total reduction of his eight-year sentence of 251/2 months.