Photo: File photo

Vernon courthouse

A mentally challenged Vernon man convicted of two counts of sexual interference of two 15-year-old girls will serve a six-month conditional sentence, after a judge found the mandatory minimum sentence of one year would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

Dylan Scofield, 26, pleaded guilty to the charges in May 2015, after having sexual relations, including intercourse, with the two Grade 9 girls in 2013 in Vernon, while he was 22 years old.

While Justice Gary Weatherill said the two girls were “willing participants,” they were unable to consent due to their young age.

In a victim impact statement, one of the victims said she continues to go to counselling as a result of her involvement with Scofield and has ongoing flashbacks and nightmares. She has stopped working, quit school and is “very depressed,” according to her mother. The other victim chose not to be a part of the criminal proceedings, and did not provide an impact statement.

While sexual interference of a person under 16 carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year imprisonment, Justice Weatherill ruled in January that the sentence, one of many mandatory minimums introduced by the federal Conservative government in 2012, would breach Scofield's Section 12 Charter rights, not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

“I held that due to the exceptional circumstances of this case, including that Mr. Scofield was a first-time offender who suffers from significant cognitive deficits, the fit and proper sentence should be a six-month conditional sentence,” Justice Weatherill wrote.

A cognitive assessment of Scofield found he was in the bottom 0.3 percentile, with an IQ of 56, and there's a “suggestion that he has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder,” according to Justice Weatherill's ruling.

Following the January decision, the Crown was given the opportunity to argue whether the infringement of Scofield's Charter rights could be justified under Section 1 of the Charter, which allows for “reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

Additionally, the Crown asked Justice Weatherill to apply the mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days used for less serious “summary offences,” for this case's more serious “indictable offence," after the one-year minimum was struck down.

Last Friday, Justice Weatherill ruled the Charter infringement is not justified under Section 1, and he also refused to apply the 90-day minimum sentence.

As a result, Scofield was sentenced to the six-month conditional sentence. A conditional sentence allows an offender to serve time in the community, under strict conditions.

While the Crown wanted Scofield barred from being within two kilometres of the victims' homes, school or work, Justice Weatherill said he was not persuaded Scofield remains a danger to children, and declined to impose the order.

“The offences to which Mr. Scofield pled guilty to occurred over four years ago,” Justice Weatherill stated in his ruling. “Since then, there is no suggestion that he has engaged in any behaviour of concern.”

Scofield was barred from communicating with the victims and from using the internet to access dating websites without adult supervision. He also must attend counselling as directed by his supervisor. 

“This sentence may not satisfy everyone but, as I explained in my reasons, the law requires my sentence to balance many factors not just satisfy one particular interest,” Justice Weatherill said.