An Alberta judge appeared to lament the demise of corporal punishment as he sentenced a man Wednesday for terrorizing his family and raping his former girlfriend in front of their two-year-old son.
“If I had my way ... I would ask the Parliament of Canada to bring back whipping,” provincial court Judge Michael Stevens-Guille said as he handed James Jacobs a five-year prison sentence.
Mr. Jacobs, 45, pleaded guilty to five charges that included sexual assault, unlawful confinement and uttering death threats for a June 14, 2006, attack that sent Edmonton's police tactical unit to a house where the victim lived with her three sons, who were 2, 7 and 10 at the time.
But what floored the judge was when Mr. Jacobs got up in the prisoner's box and tried to blame his ex-girlfriend for his terrifying behaviour, saying she knew he was a crack addict when they got together. He also accused her of repeatedly lying in the past.
After an incredulous Justice Stevens-Guille pressed Mr. Jacobs on whether he was sorry, he finally said: “Yes I am. I'm sorry for what I done. Sorry to my kids.” He then sat down and sobbed.
Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich told court the victim had just sent her two older sons out the door to school when she heard a distressed cry and discovered Mr. Jacobs waiting outside. He pushed himself into the home and brandished a sharp weapon described as a five-point painting tool.
Court heard the victim was so afraid she wet her pants and fell backwards to the ground, with Mr. Jacobs on top of her, as the two boys watched in terror. She suffered a five-centimetre gash to her hand.
The boys obeyed their mother's frantic orders to run to a neighbour's place and call 911.
At one point, Mr. Jacobs picked up the couple's two-year-old son in one arm and a kitchen knife in the other and threatened to throw the toddler out the window. He also ordered his girlfriend to stand in front of the window so that police officers, who by this time had amassed outside, couldn't get a clear shot.
Mr. Jacobs took the woman to the master bedroom and told her he wanted sex because he was going to jail and wouldn't be having sex for a long time. Ms. Bykewich said the woman refused repeatedly but Mr. Jacobs forced himself on her. The two-year-old boy had come upstairs in the meantime and witnessed the assault.
Throughout the ordeal Mr. Jacobs threatened to kill both the victim and the little boy. He also placed 911 calls threatening to kill the mother and son if police came to the house.
Eventually the woman managed to grab her son and run outside.
In a victim impact statement, the woman, whose name is under a publication ban, said all three of her sons still have flashbacks and she is scared to be in Edmonton.
“I have immense fear about being attacked in public by (Jacobs) if he is released at any point in time.”
Defence lawyer Peter Royal told court Mr. Jacobs had a long-time addiction to crack cocaine and was under the influence of crack when he committed the “grave crimes.”
