Man sentenced for ‘brutal assault’ on fiancée

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This article was published 27/05/2025 (305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon judge sentenced a man to 10 months in jail on Monday afternoon after he brutally assaulted his fiancée twice in one night.

“The risk of injury with that type of assault is incredible. It could result in death,” Judge Patrick Sullivan told 45-year-old Desmond McKay as he delivered his sentence.

Crown attorney Sarah Kok asked for McKay to receive a one-year jail sentence, considering the irreparable harm he inflicted on the complainant.

“We need to send a message, not only to Mr. McKay, but to all members of the public that this conduct must be denounced,” said Kok.

McKay pleaded guilty on Monday to assault causing bodily harm.

Kok told the provincial court that on Jan. 31, McKay and the complainant had a few drinks before she decided to go to sleep.

She said the complainant woke up at around 1 a.m. to McKay and another person arguing about the complainant allegedly cheating on McKay, although there was no proof that she had.

McKay then punched the complainant in the face several times, said Kok. When the woman tried to clean the blood off her face and the floor, McKay started kicking her in the face.

Shortly after, McKay and the other individual left and the complainant went back to sleep.

Around three hours later, McKay woke the complainant again, this time pulling her by her hair to the living room, Kok said. He again punched her and kicked her in the face multiple times. The complainant indicated that she was at no point able to protect herself and wasn’t fighting back.

Brandon Police Service received a complaint of an assault at a residence on Fourth Street. Police got to the address at about 6 a.m. and could clearly see the complainants’ injuries, including blood on her lower lip, swelling on her face and redness on her forehead, said Kok.

The complainant described McKay and the clothing he was wearing to police. She agreed to give a statement, which lasted about 40 minutes. During this time, Kok said officers could see her injuries getting worse.

A medical report confirmed the complainant had a fractured nose, bruising on the walls of her ribs on both sides, and swelling and bruising on her face.

At around 5 p.m. the same day, police found and arrested McKay for assault causing bodily harm.

Kok said the complainant no longer feels safe walking around downtown or even in her new residence, which has extra security measures.

“Not only did Mr. McKay shatter her body, he shattered her personal being,” said Kok.

Defence lawyer Myles Davis asked the court to consider a sentence of time already served. McKay has been in custody for a total of 105 days, adding up to 158 days with enhanced credit.

Both the Crown and defence agreed on a two-year probationary period — one year supervised and one year unsupervised — following whatever sentence McKay received.

Davis pointed out that McKay has significant Gladue factors. He is from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and was raised there primarily by his parents as well as in Brandon. His mother and other family members went to residential schools.

He said McKay was exposed to alcohol at a young age and had struggled with his alcohol use in his adult years. He said McKay had acknowledged that alcohol is the root of many of his problems, including this assault.

Davis said McKay has a Grade 11 education but plans to further his schooling and go to college once he is out of custody.

“He has been doing positive things while in custody and his goal, obviously, is to complete education and upgrading going forward,” said Davis.

Judge Sullivan gave McKay a chance to speak before he received his sentence.

He apologized to the complainant and said, “I was drunk, and I heard some stuff I didn’t want to hear, and I acted inappropriately. I wish I didn’t.”

“I think this has to be described as a brutal assault,” said Sullivan. “These are significant injuries. This is more than a scratch. This is more than a black eye.

“This wasn’t an incident that occurred exclusively in the heat of the moment,” the judge added. “You had time to cool down, to contemplate your actions, and you went back nevertheless and engaged in hair pulling and kicking in the head.”

Taking account of McKay’s time already served, he will spend another 142 days in custody, followed by two years of probation.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com