Dec. 12 has been circled as the date on which a decision on sentencing will be handed down in the sexual abuse case against former Beauval Indian Residential School dormitory supervisor Paul Leroux.
Justice Murray Acton has reserved his decision until that date, following submissions by the Crown and by Leroux in Battleford Queen's Bench court Thursday.
Leroux was convicted last month of eight counts of indecent assault and two counts of gross indecency in the case. The allegations date back to the period from 1959 to 1967 at Beauval Indian Residential School.
The victims, all students at that residential school, were boys in their early teens at the time. The allegations of abuse ranged from sexual touching, fondling and oral sex, to penetration on multiple occasions.
In his submission, Crown prosecutor Mitch Piche called for a lengthy jail term for Leroux.
Piche called for a sentence to run 11 years, based on a calculation where four of the most serious counts run consecutively in terms of four, three, two and two years each. Piche suggested the remaining sentences - one for two years and three for one year each - could run concurrently.
Taking each count individually and adding the sentences up consecutively could have brought the total sentence to 25.5 years. But Piche acknowledged that would not be considered "fit and proper" under the "totality principle" used in imposing sentence.
In determining an appropriate sentence, Piche referred to case law in several Saskatchewan court decisions as well as a Manitoba Court of Appeal ruling in the case of the Queen vs. James. That involved former junior hockey coach Graham James who was convicted of sexually assaulting a number of former players.
The Saskatchewan cases indicated the starting point for "major sexual assault" was three years, with the length increasing or decreasing based on aggravating or mitigating factors.
In making his submission, Piche noted the moral culpability of the accused was "very high indeed," and said Leroux used his position to "satisfy his own sexual urges."
Piche noted the victims were "still feeling the reverberations of this." Piche compared the impact to the dropping of an "atom bomb" that left in its wake "radiation poisoning" in the form of alcoholism, criminality and diminished lives.
Piche also referred to Leroux's previous convictions for sexual abuse at a residential school in Inuvik, for which he was sentenced in 1998 and paroled in 2002. Leroux had not reoffended since 1979 and was considered a low risk to reoffend, Piche said, but he also made note that Leroux had taken "no responsibility" for his actions.
In his submission Leroux, who acted in his own defence throughout the trial, noted he was at a "distinct disadvantage."
He took issue with referring to case law of the previous five years in imposing sentence, and seemed to suggest he would have been in line for a lighter sentence had charges been brought forward many years earlier.
In speaking to reporters, Piche did not appear convinced by Leroux's argument. "That may or may not be the case," he said.
The courtroom gallery was filled Thursday with several victims from Beauval Indian Residential School and their families and supporters.
Prior to final sentencing arguments, victim impact statements were read aloud by Piche and presented to the court.
Several submissions spoke of how the victims' lives were adversely impacted, with many statements speaking of excessive alcoholism, anger, shame, as well as the impact on their families.
One of Leroux's victims, whose name is protected under a court-imposed publication ban, read his statement in court.
He said the victims "had to carry the burden of anger and shame that you have placed on us."
As for whether he forgave Leroux, he said "not likely," adding Leroux had "wreaked havoc upon innocents and therefore destroyed the lives of many people."
In speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, he reiterated that sentiment.
"For me to say that I forgive him for what he's done, no, I will never do that," he said.
"Maybe for someone else they can do that, but I have to live with this. We have lived in shame and we've spent so many years hiding from the things that had happened to us."
