Woman gets conditional sentence for grandson assault

A grandmother convicted of assaulting her grandson after she touched his buttocks without his consent on multiple occasions will serve a four-month conditional sentence in a rural southwestern Manitoba community.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Sandra Zinchuk delivered her decision during a sentencing hearing in Brandon on Monday following a two-day trial in spring for the 51-year-old offender.

Despite being charged with two counts of sexual assault, the grandmother was found guilty on a lesser charge of assault and was acquitted on the other count in relation to allegations she sexually abused her granddaughter.

A publication ban protecting the children’s identities prohibits the Sun from naming the woman, who pleaded not guilty to both charges.

She “touched the skin of her grandson’s buttocks, smelled her hand and called him ‘stinky’” in incidents that occurred between August 2019 and December 2021, Zinchuk said.

“He was between five and seven years of age at the time, and the touching occurred without his consent.”

Zinchuk determined the way the grandmother touched the boy wasn’t sexual in nature, but his autonomy and bodily integrity were violated, which resulted in the assault conviction.

“Accordingly, I accept the Crown’s submission that a conditional sentence is appropriate,” she said.

The children, ages 12 and 9, and their mother testified in the trial. The children alleged they were touched in a sexual way every time they would visit their grandmother and watch TV with her in a bedroom.

The boy described an incident where his grandmother started “rubbing” his buttocks when she put her hand down his pants, and other times when he saw her doing the same thing to his younger sister.

The girl testified that her grandmother had touched her more than once in the “front and back” of her body, specifically the part where “pee comes out,” when she was between the ages of two and four.

The children’s mother became aware of the incidents in January 2023 when the boy “blurted out” one evening at dinner that their grandmother had put her hands down his sister’s pants. He later admitted that she had done it to him too.

When the grandmother was convicted in May, Zinchuk had concerns about the reliability of the girl’s evidence and considered the grandmother could have been checking her granddaughter’s diaper or hygiene.

The offender has no prior criminal record and was assessed as being a low risk to reoffend, she said, adding that the woman has a large, supportive peer group with 13 individuals who submitted letters to the court articulating her positive influence on family, friends and the community.

Her employment at an elementary school was terminated when the charges were laid, Zinchuk said. She was granted bail in March 2023 and was released on conditions that included prohibiting her from attending a school, public park and swimming area, and not having contact with anyone under 16.

Last month, Crown attorney Reid Girard argued the woman should receive a six-month conditional sentence followed by two years of unsupervised probation with conditions, including no contact with the children and their mother, and not to go within 100 metres of their home, work, school or place of worship.

He suggested an additional condition that would prohibit her from working or volunteering in a position of trust or authority over a person under 18 years as a form of “risk management” to the community.

The grandmother’s defence lawyer, Anthony Dawson, recommended she face 12-18 months of supervised probation given she was convicted of a less serious offence compared to her initial charges.

He argued against one of the conditions suggested by the Crown, which is typically imposed on people convicted of sexual offences, which wouldn’t be appropriate in this circumstance.

Zinchuk said there have been no concerns of non-compliance since the woman’s release on bail.

“I see no purpose to requiring her to remain on probation for any period thereafter, given her lengthy compliance over the past period,” she said.

Over the next four months, the grandmother will remain on conditions, including not to contact the children and their mother or go within 100 metres of their home, work, school or place of worship.

She is also prohibited from working or volunteering in a position of trust and authority over anyone under 16.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com