BOYLE – An Edmonton-area woman is going to have to wait a few months longer for justice, after a judge refrained from passing sentence on a May long weekend assault in Boyle.
Sean Daniel Desjarlais, 31, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assault in Boyle Court of Justice Jan. 23, after he pinned his then-partner to the ground by her neck during a camping trip near Boyle. Desjarlais had originally been charged with assault via choking, strangulation, or suffocation.
Crown prosecutor Patricia Hankinson and defence counsel Peter Shipanoff suggested a 24-month conditional discharge, which required Desjarlais to undergo counselling for domestic violence, but Justice Andrea Hemmerling wasn’t convinced it was sufficient.
Hemmerling accepted the guilty plea, but asked the two lawyers for further submissions after she found their proposed 24-month conditional discharge to be too lenient under precedent — the case will return to Boyle March. 26.
“I am having difficulty with the joint submission of the conditional discharge,” said Hemmerling. “I appreciate the joint submission comments, but then we also have to get into the sentencing, whether or not it meets the tests subject to the joint submissions.”
Pointing to R v. Turner, 2022, from the Alberta court of appeals, Justice Hemmerling pointed out that the victim was Indigenous, and according to precedent, “Criminals who victimize indigenous women should receive sanctions severe enough to convey society’s condemnation of their crimes. A conditional discharge will seldom, if ever, serve this purpose.”
A victim-impact statement was also read in by the woman who said the experience had left her “shattered” and “depersonalized” in the aftermath.
“When I finally found the strength to leave him with the help of my therapist, I feared for my safety every day,” read the woman. “Even though Sean hasn’t been in my life since he was charged, every time I see a van similar to his, or hear a loud noise in my apartment, I fear that is him coming to finish the job.”
“Every day I struggle with the fact that I was nearly a missing/murdered Indigenous woman and I struggle with knowing that my daughter could have been left without a mother as a result of Sean’s actions.”
The facts
Hankinson told court that on May 28, 2023, Desjarlais and a 21-year-old woman were camping at Chump Lake near Boyle. Hankinson said the two got into a verbal argument, after which the woman said she would get her ex-boyfriend to come pick her up. The two were sleeping in Desjarlais van at the time, and he told the woman to get out of the van after her statement. Hankinson said that after asking twice, Desjarlais grabbed the woman by her leg, and pulled her out of the van, causing her to hit the ground.
“The accused then goes to grab the complainant’s bag of belongings, the complainant pushes him, and unpleasantries are exchanged by both parties,” said Hankinson. “The complainant strikes him, breaking his tooth. He then throws her to the ground, pinning her on the ground with his hand near her neck.”
Hankinson told court this went on for some time, before the woman said something to the effect of “just do it,” at which point Desjarlais backed off, crying and apologetic.
