BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury man found guilty of a prolonged sexual assault against a mentally challenged male teenager was given a one-year jail sentence Tuesday.
Justice Patricia Hennessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said the community would be outraged if Peter Paradis, 40, was given a conditional sentence to be served in the community following the extended sexual assault of his 16-year-old victim last July.
"Every member of this community is offended by this act," said Hennessy.
The Ontario Court of Appeal has continually upheld that jail sentences and not conditional sentences should be handed out in cases involving sexual abuse of children and/or mentally challenged persons, said Hennessy.
Hennessy convicted Paradis, following a three-day trial in August.
In her ruling, Hennessy said she found Paradis invited the boy to his apartment, gave him some beer and proceeded on a two-hour sexual attack.
Despite having no previous criminal record and a strong work background, Hennessy said a conditional sentence of house arrest was not appropriate.
Hennessy also placed Paradis on probation for two years. During his time he?s to accept counselling for sexual deviancy and any other treatment as recommended, abstain from alcohol and non-prescription drugs and not have any contact with any children under age 17 unless accompanied by a responsible adult.
Paradis was also ordered to provide a DNA sample for a national crime data bank.
Hennessy said she "strongly recommended" Paradis serve all or most of his sentence at the Ontario Correctional Institute in Brampton, which offers outstanding programs and counselling for sexual offenders.
Hennessy made her ruling Tuesday after listening to sentencing submissions from defence counsel Charles Conroy and assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg Monday.
Paradis also apologized to his victim and his family as well as his own family Monday.
Paradis told the court how sorry he is for what he?s done and how he wants to access counseling for his sexual problems.
"It was reckless and it was criminal," he said.
He deeply regrets the pain and suffering he?s caused his victim and his family as well as his own family, said Paradis.
He can?t change what happened that evening, but it?s his hope he can access counselling to address his sexual
problems to ensure nothing like this ever happens again, said Paradis.
He realizes now he has to address his problems over his own sexuality and is more than willing to undergo counseling, he said.
Hennessy ruled Paradis may have shown "some insight" from his comments Monday. However, a pre-sentence report and Paradis? actions during the trial indicate he still doesn?t realize the magnitude of the pain and suffering he?s caused.
Paradis comes from a good family and has never been in trouble before.
The pre-sentence report indicates Paradis has deep regrets over meeting the young boy and getting in trouble with the law, but lacks insight into how much psychological and emotional damage he?s caused, said Zylberberg.
Conroy had asked the court to impose an 18-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.
Paradis has done a lot of good things in his life and has worked for numerous community organizations to make Sudbury a better place to live, he said.
