BY KEITH LACEY
The first of several Onaping Falls men charged with sexually assaulting the same young girl was spared a jail sentence, but will have severe restrictions on his freedom for the next two years.
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Eric Sadenwater, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault for an incident involving a 12-year-old girl between early and late February of 2002.
Court heard the young girl was sexually aggressive towards Sadenwater, but Justice William Fitzgerald made it clear the accused should have stopped her advances and not engaged in any appropriate behaviour.
Â?This is a very serious offenceÂ?your experience in life should have led you away from temptation,Â? said the veteran judge.
Any case involving intimate sexual contact between a man this age and a young girl must be blamed on the adult and calls out for a jail sentence, said Fitzgerald.
However, considering this accused has no previous record of similar conduct and his plea of guilt saved the young girl from having to testify, Fitzgerald ruled he didnÂ?t believe Sadenwater was any threat to the community and imposed a 12-month conditional sentence and probation.
During the first six months of the 12-month conditional sentence, Sadenwater was placed under strict house arrest, where heÂ?s not to leave his home except under special circumstances.
Sadenwater was also placed on probation for another 12 months following his sentence. During the duration of the conditional sentence and probation, Sadenwater is not to be in the presence of any girl under age 16 unless accompanied by an adult approved by his probation officer.
During his period of house arrest, Sadenwater can only leave his home for eight hours a week to obtain the necessities of life or to attend to medical emergencies.
Fitzgerald also ordered Sadenwater to provide a DNA sample for a national crime data bank.
Assistant Crown attorney Andrew Slater told the court Greater Sudbury Police became involved in an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse by a number of individuals against the same young girl earlier this year.
The girl told police one of the incidents involved Sadenwater when he was alone with her in his home.
Fitzgerald ordered a ban on publication of any evidence that would reveal the identity of the complainant.
Police called Sadenwater and he provided a statement admitting there was inappropriate sexual contact between himself and the girl, said Slater.
His statement revealed the girl helped push him upstairs and started taking off his clothes in his bedroom.
The girl remained sexually aggressive throughout the encounter and sexual intercourse and oral sex was attempted, but not completed, court heard.
Sadenwater did inform police the girl used to sit on his lap on numerous occasions and would get sexually aroused.
Any sexual contact of this nature still constitutes a sexual assault and Sadenwater should not have put himself in a position to get involved, said Slater.
Defence counsel Ron Horeck told the court his client has worked hard his entire life and has spent the past few years taking care of his wife, who needs help around the clock.
Â?He is her sole caregiver,Â? he said.
His client also suffers from depression and other health problems, he said.
After this incident, his client moved away from the area he was living in to ensure there would be no further chance of having any contact with the girl, he said.
His client doesnÂ?t have any previous indiscretions of this nature, pleaded guilty and avoided a problematic trial and was at no time the aggressor during this incident, he said.
Slater acknowledged imposing the proper sentence in this case was difficult, however, the sentence must reflect societyÂ?s abhorrence of any sexual contact between children and adults.
Â?Despite the circumstancesÂ?this is behaviour that must be denounced,Â? he said.
