WESTLOCK — A man's efforts to rehabilitate himself in the wake of a drunken assault on his domestic partner last August was recently recognized at the Westlock Court of Justice, where a 30-day jail sentence was shot down by the judge in favour of a two-year suspended sentence.
At Westlock Court of Justice on April 3, Kenneth Payou pleaded guilty to assault. A second charge of assault with a weapon was withdrawn.
During his two-year suspended sentence, Payou must obey a number of conditions such as to report to probation within five days; to make his best effort to remain employed or in school; to undergo any assessment, treatment or counselling as directed by probation for alcohol abuse, as well as grief and loss; to abstain absolutely from alcohol; to provide breath samples to a police officer who has reason to suspect he has been drinking; and to not enter any premise whose primary purpose is to sell alcohol, like a liquor store.
Normally, such cases include a condition to not have any contact with the victim, but Crown prosecutor Brett Grierson indicated that Payou's domestic partner wanted to stay in contact with him and their two children.
"As I understand, there is still a functioning family situation here and contact is desired," Grierson said.
A mandatory 10-year weapons prohibition was also imposed.
Justice Randal Brandt decided not to go with the Crown's recommendation of a 30-day jail sentence or the defence's recommendation for a six-month conditional sentence order in recognition of the fact that, shortly after the assault, Payou had entered a rehabilitation program to address his alcoholism and the anger stemming from his traumatic childhood.
A suspended sentence, Justice Brandt explained, was effectively the same as not receiving a sentence at all if he followed all his conditions, but if Payou failed to do so, the Crown could bring this matter back for sentencing.
In fact, Justice Brandt said that as a prosecutor, he himself had brought back suspended sentences into court and it always resulted in jail.
“If it wasn’t your going to treatment on your own ... you most certainly would have gotten jail out of this. So if you’re looking for somebody to give credit to, it’s yourself," said Justice Brandt.
Facts of the case
Grierson said that on Aug. 19, 2023, at about 1:59 a.m., the Westlock RCMP were contacted by Payou's domestic partner about an assault that had occurred at a local hotel in Westlock.
Payou was intoxicated by alcohol and they had gotten into an argument, Grierson said. He pushed her against the wall in one of the hotel's hallways and then grabbed her head and shoulder area and pushed her to the ground. Payou's two children witnessed the assault, incidentally.
Grierson noted that Payou had a "rather lengthy" record with several prior convictions for assault, including a one-year sentence for assault in 2007, which is what prompted the Crown to ask for a jail sentence.
"There’s a lengthy history of violence," he said, adding the fact that this was a domestic assault that occurred in front of the couple's two children was aggravating.
Payou's defence lawyer asked for a six-month conditional sentence order because that had originally been offered by the Crown previously, noting that Payou was forced to turn down that offer because he had just entered the rehabilitation program and was told that if he left the treatment centre, he would effectively lose his spot.
When given the chance to speak, Payou said he was not trying to waste the Crown's time and would have preferred this matter to be dealt with sooner.
Payou, who works as a carpenter, said that a week prior to the incident, his father had passed away. “I ended up turning to alcohol, which I shouldn’t have," he added. "I’m honestly, truly sorry.”
He described his entry into residential treatment last December and how he was set to enter a second stage of treatment at the end of April that would allow him to work while returning to a structured facility after work.
Noting that he had been in foster care for much of his childhood and had been bounced around frequently from one foster home to the next, Payou said, “The only resource I felt I had was anger."
However, his time in residential treatment had allowed him to work on himself and deal with his past trauma.
“Everybody can tell you that it’s time to change or whatever. That’s what they used to tell me for years. But until you’re actually ready to sit there and work on yourself and actually dig in and see what faults you have in yourself. then there’s no use.”
Justice Brandt said that in terms of how Payou was dealing with his issues, he was doing "exactly the right thing" by seeking treatment and staying employed, adding that many defendants simply express regret for their actions in court.
“You’re really taking the bull by the horns and done what’s needed to solve this problem," he said.
