A woman tearfully told a hushed Sudbury courtroom Wednesday how her life was devastated by repeated sexual attacks 25 years ago.
?I was frightened and I was terrified,? said the woman at the sentencing hearing of Douglas Bowman, 57, who pleaded guilty to attempted sexual intercourse and gross indecency for repeated acts against the complainant when she was between ages 11 and 14 in the mid-1970s.
Justice Patricia Hennessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice told Bowman sexually assaulting a child is among the worst crimes a person can commit.
She called Bowman ?clearly a predator? and told him she must impose a sentence that denounces his conduct because the community demands those who sexually abuse children be dealt with harshly.
Bowman was sentenced in early January to 30 months in a federal penitentiary for the sexual abuse of two other young females dating back many years.
Hennessy sentenced Bowman to an additional 14 months consecutive to the penitentiary sentence he is currently serving.
Court heard Bowman?s sexual abuse of this complainant started in 1974 when she was in Grade 5 and included digital penetration, forced fellatio and repeated attempted sexual intercourse. The complainant attempted suicide at a young age by overdosing on prescription pills, court heard.
Defence counsel Nathalie Boivin told the court Bowman had no previous criminal record until his 2001 conviction and his plea of guilt saved all of his victims from having to testify at would have been a very difficult trial.
Bowman has accessed and is accepting counselling in the penitentiary, she said.
