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Man designated long-term offender

A Yorkton Provincial Court judge has designated a 31-year-old area man as a long-term offender (LTO).
Sentenced

A Yorkton Provincial Court judge has designated a 31-year-old area man as a long-term offender (LTO).

In a painstaking oral decision delivered March 18, Judge Patrick Reis sentenced Ian Desjarlais to three years in penitentiary on top of the two-and-a-half years he has spent in remand since his arrest. Once released, he will be subject to a seven-year long-term supervision order.

The sentence stems from a serious assault on Desjarlais’ then-common law partner near Melville in 2013 and a subsequent obstruction of justice charge for trying to intimidate the victim between November of 2013 and January 2014 into recanting her complaint.

Desjarlais pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm, obstruction of justice, driving with a blood alcohol content greater than .08, and breach of a recognizance for not keeping the peace and being of good behaviour. The Crown, represented by Regina prosecutor Rob DeCorby, director of the Ministry of Justice High Risk Violent Offender Unit, had originally sought to have Desjarlais designated a
dangerous offender, but later downgraded that to LTO.

Saskatoon defence attorney Brian Pfefferle had argued for his client’s release under a long-term supervision order, or a shorter transition period of incarceration, but was not totally surprised by the sentence. Nevertheless, he said they were not overly disappointed as the downgrade from DO to LTO status was a win for the defence.

For his part, Reis considered several mitigating factors in his decision citing the Supreme Court decisions in Gladue and Ipeelee that instruct judges to apply a method of analysis that recognizes adverse cultural and socioeconomic impact factors that many Indigenous people face.

“Mr. Desjarlais’ troubled upbringing and background contributed to a sense of abandonment and the drinking and violence he experienced and learned to model are significant and diminish his moral culpability,” Reis said.

The judge also took into account Desjarlais’ commitment to his children; support from his family, particularly his mother who agreed to take him in on release; his hard work ethic; and some rehabilitation efforts the defendant had made in recent months.

Ultimately though, Reis could not get past Desjarlais’ lengthy and violent criminal record, which included three convictions for domestic assaults and behaviour in remand the judge described as “extreme.”

Referring to the principles of sentencing and factoring in Gladue, the judge said he was left with: the gravity of the offences, the need for rehabilitation, the need to protect the public, a high risk of reoffending violently, a negative history of supervision in the community, and an imperative Desjarlais receives “extensive and intensive offender treatment.”

“The only possible sentence to protect the public and to provide for Mr. Desjarlais’ hopeful rehabilitation with his treatment needs can only be achieved through the imposition of a penitentiary sentence which then engages the Correctional Service of Canada,” Reis said.

The judge imposed an additional 13 months on the assault charge for a total of three-and-half years with time served. He tacked on a consecutive sentence of 23 months on the obstruction charge which he called “alarming and egregious” and a “very serious assault on the administration of justice.”

The fact the combined additional sentence added up to three years was not accidental. It is the length of time an expert witness said was the minimum for Desjarlais to complete core and maintenance rehabilitation programming.

Pfefferle said his client is committed to the plan.

“I’m optimistic Ian is going to do the things he needs to do to put this behind him,” Pfefferle said.

Reis also imposed a $1,000 fine on the .08 charge and one year in prison for the breach to be served concurrently. Additionally, there is a mandatory lifetime firearms and weapons prohibition and mandatory DNA order.