Former Windsor denturist jailed for sexual assaults on patients
Describing a health professional who breached his position of authority and trust with patients “significantly and reprehensibly,” a Windsor judge has sentenced a former denturist to 15 months in jail.
Mario Mouamer was convicted in November on 13 counts of sexual assault involving 10 female clients, ranging in age from 23 to 65, over a four-year period from 2013 to 2017. Each victim was in a vulnerable position at the time of the assaults and suffered “significant emotional ... (and) profound and lasting negative impacts,” Superior Court Justice George King said in his sentencing decision read Wednesday.
At an earlier sentencing hearing in January, assistant Crown attorney Tim Kavanagh argued for a 42-month federal prison term, while defence lawyer Laura Joy sought a conditional sentence to be served at home. King described as “extreme” that range of possible penalties. Given the chief aggravating factor — the “shocking breach of trust” by a health professional treating patients — King said a conditional sentence to be served in the community would not “meaningfully” address denunciation and deterrence.
But citing the “practical consequences” for Mouamer — including loss of his business and licence to practice — as well as strong family and community support, a “pro-social” life since the offences and the fact he's a first-time offender, King also said the prosecution's position and a penitentiary term of greater than two years would be too severe.
After serving his sentence, Mouamer, 47, who was permitted to move to New Brunswick while on bail to be his aging parents' primary care provider, will remain on probation for a year.
Justice King also ordered Mouamer to submit a blood sample for a police DNA crime databank; he will be on Canada's Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) list for 20 years; and he's prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years.