Father of Okanagan boy who died said the justice system has failed his son

Court heard of several incidents involving the child including one on April 4th, 2020 when the boy was pushed outside after soiling himself.

A sentence handed down in Vernon, B.C., court last week has deeply angered the father of the boy who died.

“How can you possibly give that kind of a sentence to the loss of an eight-year old boy,” said Mackenzie, whose last name we are using to protect the identity of his son.

“This isn’t justice, I want people to be upset about this, I want people to remember my son.”

The Okanagan boy died in the spring of 2020.

His mother, Keisha McCrea, was in Vernon court on Thursday on a charge of failure to provide the necessities of life .

She pleaded not guilty and instead pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm, which means she will not serve any jail time.

McCrea and her boyfriend Brian Chcuik were the sole caregivers of the boy and lived in Lumby at the time.

Chuick was also originally charged with failure to provide the necessities of life  but the charges were stayed by Crown.