Man sentenced to jail for assaulting pregnant ex-partner

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A man charged with assaulting his 38-week pregnant ex-partner was sentenced to 15 days behind bars on Monday.

Scott Crawford, 34, pleaded guilty to a single count of assault in Brandon provincial court ahead of his sentencing.

Judge Patrick Sullivan agreed with Crawford’s lawyer that the contact during the assault was on the low end of the scale but said “it is the presence of the child in her arms and the pregnancy that elevate the seriousness of this domestic violence.”

Crown attorney Nikki Boggs read the facts behind the guilty plea.

A woman went to the Brandon Police Service station on June 11 and reported that her ex-partner, Crawford, assaulted her.

The woman, who was 38 weeks pregnant at the time, was leaving her home with a diaper bag and her two-year-old child in her arms when Crawford started yelling and screaming at her, she said in a statement to police.

“They got into a verbal altercation, and she was trying to de-escalate it by walking away. It’s at this point that Mr. Crawford stood in front of her, obstructing her path,” Boggs said.

She said he “ripped” the diaper bag off her shoulder and tried to grab her hair as she walked away. He took the keys to her house and her cellphone before he fled.

A person passing by drove the woman to the police station since she didn’t have her keys or cellphone.

Police found Crawford and arrested him for assault.

Since the initial statement, Boggs said the woman went to victim services twice. She said she maintained what happened, but didn’t want to pursue the criminal charges or attend court.

The Crown still decided to pursue the charges and said it’s mitigating that Crawford pleaded guilty since he could have taken the matter to trial, where the woman may or may not have shown up.

Boggs asked the court to consider a sentence of 30 days in custody followed by two years of supervised probation.

Defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki said he disagreed with Boggs’ suggestion and that there were multiple reasons to impose a “much lesser sentence.”

Sieklicki said the court should give Crawford maximum credit for his guilty plea.

“If he had rolled the dice, perhaps his chances of an acquittal would have been certainly significantly higher … given the position of the complainant and given that really the only piece of evidence that the Crown has was the witness statement of the complainant herself,” Sieklicki said.

He said that while Crawford has a “significant past criminal record,” he has no assault convictions and the assault was on the low end of assaults. Sieklicki said it was a “fleeting incident” that didn’t appear to be planned.

He said Crawford’s offending started in 2020 after his grandfather, who he described as a rock in his life, passed away. Crawford was an only child and his parents separated when he was in his late teens.

Sieklicki said Crawford’s dad had addictions issues and his mother got into a new relationship and started to spend more time with Crawford’s stepfather and stepbrothers.

Crawford started using substances after his grandfather passed and “it was a downward spiral from there,” Sieklicki said.

He said Crawford’s emotions were running high that day and unfortunately got the best of him, but that he expressed his apologies.

Sieklicki suggested a suspended sentence would be appropriate with one year of probation and a condition that Crawford cannot contact the complainant if he is intoxicated.

Sullivan told Crawford that there is anecdotal evidence that children who are exposed to domestic violence are more likely to be involved in violent relationships as adults.

“You know your children who observe this will model their own behaviour after you. That’s what children do. They look to you as a role model and the example you set is an example they will follow,” Sullivan said.

He pointed out that Crawford has been in custody for 75 days awaiting his sentence and that time has sent the intended message. He said the sentence imposed will determine how the assault is reflected on his record.

Sullivan sentenced Crawford to 15 days in custody followed by two years of supervised probation, with a condition to only contact the complainant while sober and with her ongoing consent.

sanderson@brandonsun.com