A Yorkton child abduction case has come to an end after nearly three years with the sentencing of Melvin Dale Koroluk, 59, to two years less a day in prison.
In July 2011, Koroluk was arrested for abducting a 10-year-old girl from the Yorkton Exhibition. He pleaded guilty in December 2012.
In her decision, read at Court of Queen's Bench in Yorkton today, Madam Justice C. L. Dawson, agreed with the Crown that the primary consideration in sentencing was denunciation and deterrence.
The defence had asked for a similar term, but to be served in the community.
Dawson cited aggravating circumstances including the age of the victim, the fact that she was a complete stranger to Koroluk, that he had lured her with the promise of money and that he had put her at further risk by not reporting her missing after she had escaped from his vehicle.
Although she said she was satisfied that Koroluk was a low risk to re-offend among 11 other mitigating factors, the judge felt on balance she had no other recourse but to impose a custodial sentence.
See the April 17 print edition of Yorkton This Week for complete coverage including:
- Evidence from the preliminary hearing previously covered by a publication ban.
- All the aggravating and mitigating circumstances that informed the judge's decision.
- An overview of the relevant case law and Criminal Code sections.
- Thom Barker's Crime Diary on the appropriateness of the sentence.
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