An ex-Yellowknife gymnastics instructor who admitted to sending a sexually explicit photo to a girl he once coached received a one-year jail sentence on Tuesday.
Ricky Lee Sutherland, 50, pleaded guilty in May to luring a child under the age of 18, an offence that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail.
Sutherland, who was employed at a city gymnastics club in the summer of 2016, sent a number of messages to the victim via Snapchat SA国际影视传媒� an app popular among young people which allows users to send and receive messages that disappear within seconds SA国际影视传媒� over a two-day period in February 2017.
His penis was visible in at least one of the photos.
Sutherland, like all employees at the club, had been instructed not to befriend gymnasts online. He was fired after being confronted about the messages by the board of directors.
NWT Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau said Sutherland, an admired coach and a SA国际影视传媒渧ery important personSA国际影视传媒� in the victimSA国际影视传媒檚 life, violated a relationship built on trust when he sent the explicit image. Charbonneau, who was asked to consider an 18-month sentence by prosecutors, settled on the mandatory minimum after careful consideration, she said.
Charbonneau previously tossed about an application from SutherlandSA国际影视传媒檚 lawyer, who mounted a Charter challenge, arguing the mandatory sentence would amount to a cruel and unusual punishment for her client.
The girl once coached by Sutherland clearly suffered SA国际影视传媒渁 great deal of distress,SA国际影视传媒� as a result of his actions, as shown in her victim impact statement, said Charbonneau.
The victim wrote Sutherland SA国际影视传媒渟hatteredSA国际影视传媒� their relationship, and that she physically shakes when hearing his name.
Charbonneau said itSA国际影视传媒檚 SA国际影视传媒渆xtremely importantSA国际影视传媒� for the courts to send a clear message that these types of crimes wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be tolerated, adding online child luring has been described as SA国际影视传媒渧irtual home invasionSA国际影视传媒� in other cases.
Citing a handful of support letters submitted to the court from SutherlandSA国际影视传媒檚 family and friends, she said the offence was clearly SA国际影视传媒渙ut of character.SA国际影视传媒�
Sutherland has since pursued counselling, and is exploring behavioural cognitive therapy, the court heard.
Sutherland has been in custody after waiving his right to bail in the summer.
With credit for pre-trial custody, he has just over eight months left to serve behind bars.
Once released, Sutherland will be on probation for three years. He will be a registered sex offender for 20 years. He was also ordered to submit a sample to the national DNA database.
