No jail for man who abused child

A man who sexually assaulted a young girl while they slept in the same bed gets to serve his sentence in the community.

Michael Jonathon Thode, 36, pleaded guilty Thursday in Saskatoon provincial court to one charge of sexual assault that covered a series of assaults on the victim, who was aged five to 10 when the incidents happened between 1995 and 2000.

The Crown and defence jointly recommended a 12- month conditional sentence, followed by 24 months of probation — which is at the low end of the range, but which was “informed by” a number of factors, including the victim’s poor memory of the assaults, Crown prosecutor John Knox said.

“(She) has been consistent with the police and with the Crown about the limitations of her memory of those instances,” Knox said. “Those memory deficits do create a risk for the Crown at trial.”

Defence lawyer Kevin Hill noted the assaults — which consisted of Thode touching the victim and performing oral sex on her — are not the most serious of sexual assaults. Hill said Thode himself was victimized in his youth and it was a situation of the victim turning into a perpetrator.

If the case went to trial, the Crown would have difficulty proving its case, but nevertheless, Thode wanted to plead guilty, Hill said.

“He’s very remorseful and apologetic,” Hill said. “He wants to do his best to break the cycle of abuse.”

Before accepting the joint submission, Judge Pat Carey asked Knox whether the victim knew about the resolution and was OK with it; Knox indicated that she was.

The conditions of Thode’s sentence and probation include that he abide by a curfew of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., not be alone with any children under 16 except his own children, who are aware of the criminal charge, and submit to an assessment for sexual offending recidivism and take treatment as directed.

He must also submit a sample of his DNA and comply with the national sex offender registry for 20 years.