A Greater Sudbury teacher who sexually abused a former student will be sentenced sometime in the new year.
Damir Bulic, 46, appeared in court on Dec. 14 after being convicted of four counts of performing an indecent act and one count of invite to sexual touching. All offences involved the same boy and happened between Sept. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2011.
The Crown is seeking a jail sentence of anywhere between 18 months and three and a half years.
Bulic's defence attorneys, Breese Davies and Owen Goddard, are asking a sentence of nine to 12 months, and that it be served at St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre, where he would be able to get the psychiatric help he needs.
Bulic is suffering from serious depression and anxiety, and has been hospitalized twice for concerns he might try to commit suicide, his lawyers argued.
In seeking a sentence of no more than 12 month, his defence team says his otherwise good character, his lack of a criminal record, the fact he has seven children and a wife that depend on him, combined with the fact there was no touching or penetration, should be enough to warrant such a sentence.
“We're not dealing with conduct that typically mandates a three-year sentence,” said Goddard.
The Crown said the focus of the sentencing should be on the sexual integrity of the victim. Sexual abuse still took place, it was still intrusive, and the act itself forces a child to engage in a sexual act, regardless if there was no touching or penetration.
All child sex abuse cases need to be taken seriously, said the assistant Crown attorney. In this case, the child was put at real risk of a more intrusive sex act. The only thing that prevented it was he told Bulic no.
“He was 12 years old at the time of the offence, well below the age of consent, and that needs to be an aggravating factor in determining the sentence,” said the Crown.
The fact Bulic was the boy's teacher was an “egregious breach of trust,” she said.
Any breach of trust is aggravating, but the breach of trust between a teacher and their student is especially so. Teachers take on the role of shaping and guiding children, said the Crown.
The victim's mother provided an impact statement, which she read before the court. In it, she says her family's primary focus in the last eight years has been on the victim's well being, causing an emotional downward spiral.
“Our family witnessed our happy-go-lucky, fun-loving son disappear,” she said. “We watched him self-destruct. He turned to drugs and alcohol to numb his pain and his shame. He became a sad, angry, depressed and secretive boy who suddenly viewed his family as the enemy.”
As a mother, she said, watching your son go through that pain is heart-wrenching.
“It not only destroyed a beautiful boy, but our entire family,” she said. “We felt helpless because we could not take his pain away or fix what was wrong. He pushed everyone away. He lived inside his head for eight years. He is still struggling, and has only begun his journey to healing.”
She said she lives with tremendous guilt every day.
“We trusted Mr. Bulic with one of the two most important people in our lives. He looked up to Mr. Bulic. I feel (my husband) and I, and more importantly, our son, were deceived and betrayed.”
Their son is now in a private treatment clinic to help him deal with his emotional trauma, she said. The clinic is private, so insurance does not cover the cost, and the the financial cost has been a great strain on them.
“But we have no other choice, because we fear for this physical and mental health,” she said. “We are parents, and we're prepared to do whatever is necessary to help our son recover.
“I try to move forward every day, because I've lived this nightmare long enough. I'm depleted, I'm tired, I'm weakened, and I'm forever broken. As a parent, I'm not supposed to allow someone to hurt my child, but I can't fix this damage. I can only help my son on his path to recovery.”
In addressing Bulic specifically, she said he will never understand the emotional damage he has caused to a then-13-year-old boy.
“What you thought was fun and entertaining turned out to ruin a lot of people's lives,” she told him. “I have yet to see any remorse for your actions. I don't care what happens to you, but I feel sorry for your family and your children, and all the damage that you've done.”
During the trial, the court heard that Bulic had sex with a watermelon at his home in the presence of the boy, who was his student at the time. He also had sex with a Styrofoam container containing chicken wings while on a trip to Canada’s Wonderland with the student.
Bulic also masturbated on the hood of a vehicle while the student videotaped it on a cellphone, offered to perform oral sex on the student during a visit to Bulic’s uncle’s camp on Manitoulin Island, and used a cellphone to videotape the student masturbating while driving Bulic’s vehicle back to Greater Sudbury. In that case, the victim crashed the vehicle into a ditch.
“It's important that we send a message to strongly denounce people like Mr. Bulic who are entrusted with the safety of society's children, but who choose to abuse that trust for their own sexual needs,” the Crown said.
Following submissions by both the defence and the Crown, Justice Dan Cornell said he has a lot to think about, and reserved his decision. The matter will go to assignment court on Jan. 8, 2019, to set a date for sentencing.
