Sentencing for assault put off until August
A Summerland man found guilty of a vicious attack on his psychiatrist won’t learn his fate until at least August.
The sentencing hearing for Gregory Stanley Nield, 33, was held in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton on Friday, after he was found guilty by a jury in April of the aggravated assault of Dr. Rajeev Sheroan on Dec. 4, 2015.
Nield was involuntarily admitted to Penticton Regional Hospital’s psychiatric ward a week before the assault. On the day of the attack, the two men were together in a small interview room only several minutes when Nield assaulted the doctor.
Sheroan sustained a broken jaw, facial injuries and a traumatic brain injury that still affects him in the form of memory loss and other cognitive difficulties. He has yet to resume full-time work.
Crown counsel Sarah Firestone said a three to four year sentence would be appropriate given the significant injuries Sheroan sustained and their continued impact upon his life.
She said there had been “victimblaming” of Sheroan throughout the trial instead of a clear admittance of remorse.
“He has not taken any responsibility for what has occurred, notwithstanding the clear evidence it was he who dealt these injuries to Dr. Sheroan,” Firestone said.
She added while that wasn’t an aggravating factor, the victim-blaming was. “It was abundantly clear, at least in the treatment of the doctor throughout the examinations to which he was subject in this trial.”
Defence counsel Stan Tessmer said Nield’s rehabilitation should be the priority and that a period of probation would be the best way for him to return to being a functional member of society.
“Denunciation and deterrence have no role in sentencing a man for acts that occur when he’s been admitted to the hospital because he can’t take care of himself,” Tessmer said.
He put forward the notion that the trial process had been the cause of Sheroan’s continued issues.
“No doubt the trial process and everything that has come to light has been very traumatic for Dr. Sheroan. And I think he suffers as a result of the trial process as opposed to the injuries suffered.”
Tessmer repeatedly compared the bail conditions Nield had been living under since his release to a conditional sentence of house arrest, saying he’d already served some time indirectly for his offenses.
Firestone said letters of support from Nield’s friends, family and colleagues talking about how he’d been a good citizen and participated in outings and activities stood in contrast to that assessment. That included the ability to go on a camping trip.
“It does appear that he’s had a number of supervisors who have engaged in number of activities with him that make this very different from a conditional sentence,” she said.
“The way in which (his bail conditions) have played out does not appear to have greatly hindered his liberty.”
Firestone urged the court to be cautious of Tessmer’s assertion otherwise.
Judge Hope Hyslop reserved decision on sentencing to a date to be decided on July 24 in Kamloops.