A decision on whether there will be jail time served in a sexual interference case is slated for Nov. 5.
Johnathan Rosso pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual interference after the female victim came forward with the complaint almost two years following the incident. The matter came to light in March this year while the incident occurred in July 2010 when she was 14.
A sentencing hearing was held at Estevan provincial court on Monday with the Crown prosecutor calling for an 18-month jail term, which would be the maximum under the circumstances. The defence suggested a conditional sentence served in the community would be more appropriate, and Rosso would be able to go through programming that isn't available through the provincial jail system.
Crown prosecutor Erin Schroh said the sexual contact occurred over a few days when Rosso, a Macoun resident, and the victim were alone.
The victim was suffering from headaches, and Rosso told her massaging would help cure it. He then proceeded to touch her under her bra and genitals. The contact lasted for about an hour or two each time. The victim was uncomfortable and didn't know what to say, but eventually told him it wasn't helping her headache.
He then told her he was sorry for what he did and said she shouldn't tell anybody about it. The victim told her school counsellor earlier this year, and the matter was brought to police attention.
Schroh said Rosso justifies what he did by saying it was something he had hoped would cure her headache. She noted that if the contact was something he thought had some kind of medical purpose, he wouldn't have tried to hide it or tell the victim not to tell anybody about it.
The victim wrote a victim impact statement that Schroh shared with the court. In it, she said she was hurt emotionally and has become distant with her friends and family.
"I felt like it was my fault. I felt dirty," she said in the statement.
Schroh noted the pre-sentence report listed Rosso as a medium risk to generally reoffend but only a low risk to reoffend sexually.
"His justification for this offence is that he rationalizes his actions by saying that if there was a way to bring her pleasure, it would take away her pain," she said, adding that Rosso partially blames the victim as well as an addiction to pornography.
Rosso's defence lawyer Mike Weger said his client has been addicted to pornography since age 12, and it has "corrupted his morals and confused his reality" so that he may have felt that what he was doing would be helpful for the girl.
He said Rosso never shifts blame to the victim and has been very remorseful when he's dealing with the matters.
Rosso was supported by family, who appeared with him in court.
The judge reserved his decision to Nov. 5.
In other court proceedings, sentencing for Jessica Smith, Dustin MacNeil and Amanda Knebush was scheduled for Jan. 22. The three co-accused have pleaded guilty to forcible confinement, while MacNeil has also pleaded to a count of assault causing bodily harm, stemming from an incident involving kidnapping from May 2011.
Three other co-accused are set to appear on Nov. 5, when dates for sentencing may be set.
