Ontario man fined for paying for sex
An Ontario man has been fined $1,000 for obtaining sexual services for consideration in his Halifax hotel room in February 2017 from a girl he says he did not realize was underage.
Paul Christopher Coburn, 48, of Burlington stood trial earlier this year in Halifax provincial court on five charges involving the 15-year-old girl, who had been forced into prostitution by an Upper Hammonds Plain man.
Judge Elizabeth Buckle found Coburn guilty in October on one charge: communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services for consideration.
She acquitted him on more serious charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services from someone under the age of 18.
In the October decision, the judge accepted Coburn's testimony that he believed the girl was of legal age and said she was not persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt that he failed to take reasonable steps to ascertain her age.
Coburn was back in court Monday for sentencing.
Crown attorney Carla Ball recommended a sentence of 18 months' probation, along with the mandatory minimum fine of $1,000. She also asked that Coburn be required to provide a sample of his DNA for a national databank.
Ball said probation was required to assist Coburn in gaining insight into the degree of harm he had done.
Defence lawyer Joel Pink said a fine would be sufficient, pointing out that his client had no previous criminal record, has led an exemplary life and spent 10 days in custody after his arrest at the Toronto airport in July 2017.
If the judge felt probation was necessary, Pink requested that it only be for six months.
Pink said the case received publicity “almost nationwide” and has had a significant impact on Coburn, causing him to lose his job and be separated from his family in the United States, where he had been living.
Coburn can no longer cross the border to visit his two children, although he does communicate with them daily and they come to Canada to see him a couple of times a year, Pink told the court.
The lawyer said Coburn is remorseful for his actions. “He knew nothing about the background of this girl at the time that this incident took place. Otherwise … this would never have happened.”
Buckle agreed with the defence position that a period of probation was not necessary and that the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence could be fulfilled by the time Coburn spent on remand and the minimum fine.
The judge also exercised her discretion and refused to impose a DNA order, saying it would not be in the interests of the administration of justice.
“Historically, this offence, which was known as soliciting the services of a prostitute, was viewed as a social nuisance or a morality offence,” Buckle said. “More recently, the public and the courts have become more aware of the reality of the industry and the devastating impact it can have, particularly on young, vulnerable women.
“Mr. Coburn is not directly responsible for the exploitation and abuse that (the victim) was subjected to. However, without people like him, the industry would not be possible, so he bears some responsibility.”
Buckle said she had to consider the gravity of Mr. Coburn's offending behaviour to place it on the continuum of conduct that can constitute the offence.
“I have found that Mr. Coburn did not coerce, threaten or force (the girl) to engage in this activity,” she said. “Based on what he would have known, she came to his room voluntarily.
“I have also concluded that he was not aware of what she had experienced before coming there and I was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew she was underage.”
The young woman testified at trial last April that she was forced into prostitution by Leeanthon Oliver, who drove her to the Halifax area from New Glasgow on the afternoon of Feb. 21, 2017.
That night, she was dropped off at Coburn's hotel, where she said he got her to perform oral sex and have intercourse.
Coburn told the court he was only looking for a massage for chronic back and neck pain when he answered an ad in the therapeutic services section of Craigslist, a classifieds website.
He said he never requested sexual services and that the complainant massaged his back for about 20 minutes before asking him to roll over. He said she then climbed on top of him and initiated intercourse. He said he “partially” penetrated her but ended the encounter after noticing blood on the sheet.
Coburn said he had no reason to believe she was only 15, too young to legally have sex with an adult. “She looked like a professional person coming to do a professional service,” he said.
He said they engaged in small talk upon her arrival and she claimed she had been doing massages for about two years, was in college and had a roommate.
Oliver, 35, was handed an eight-year sentence in September 2018 after pleading guilty to five charges, including two involving the girl: trafficking a person under the age of 18 and sexual interference.