2 years in jail, life on sex offender list for assault at Hillsborough Hospital
CBC
A 28-year-old Charlottetown man has been sentenced to two years less a day in provincial jail for sexually assaulting a woman at Hillsborough Hospital.
Both the man and his victim were patients of the psychiatric facility at the time of the incident in November 2020.
"Treatment for mental health issues is key, or I fear we will see him in court on charges like this again," Crown prosecutor John Diamond said as he presented the joint sentencing recommendation in Charlottetown provincial court on Tuesday.
There's a publication ban on the woman's identity. CBC News is not naming the man because he was a psychiatric patient at the time of the offence.
The man has had a previous encounter with the law. In 2012 he was charged with sexual assault, but was found criminally not responsible for mental health reasons.
After the 2020 assault on a woman who had just been admitted to Hillsborough Hospital, the man was found fit to stand trial. A judge found him guilty after a five-day trial in which the victim was among those testifying.
Staff at the hospital testified she was incapable of giving consent.
The woman is currently in hospital and did not attend court on Tuesday.
"This incident has significantly impacted her and has caused her struggles," said Diamond.
Defence lawyer Trish Cheverie told court the case was delayed in part because of the man's continuing mental health problems. He is being treated for schizophrenia and has been re-admitted to hospital several times since the criminal charge was laid.
The man wrote a letter of apology to his victim as part of the sentencing process, and Cheverie read it aloud in court.
"Unmistaken regret about how I treated you at HIllsborough Hospital … I believe I have overstepped my boundaries at Hillsborough Hospital and I hope you are well," said Cheverie, reading from the letter.
Cheverie cited a psychiatric report in describing her client as "extremely intelligent," though he has "little insight into his mental illness."
The man's mother and father were present in court as the sentence was handed down.
