Question about the accused's cognitive ability led to a sentencing delay in Estevan provincial court Thursday.
Roland Revet was before judge Karl Bazin last week and was expected to be sentenced after pleading guilty to charges that he sexually assaulted a minor. The identity of the victim cannot be revealed due to a publication ban.
During submissions from the Crown and defence, it was noted that Revet assaulted the youth in question on a number of occasions in 2008 and 2009. The abuse was said to have included the touching of the child's genitals.
In the pre-sentencing report, it was noted that Revet, who is 55, single, and lives on a farm with his brother, did not have a prior criminal record. There were also significant questions about his level of intelligence and whether or not he had the insight to understand what he had done.
Crown prosecutor Mitch Crumley asked Bazin to hand Revet a custodial sentence of 15 months followed by a lengthy probation period. Crumley also asked for a handful of prohibitions and that Revet be forced to submit DNA to the National Sex Offender Registry.
In his submissions, defence lawyer Robert Grimsrud did not dispute the circumstances of the case and asked Bazin to give Revet a community sentence.
Grimsrud added that the mother of youth has also stated that she did not want to see the accused go to jail. Grimsrud said while the mother is well aware of the severity of the crimes and was the person who reported Revet to the authorities, she had serious concerns about what might happen to Revet while he was incarcerated.
The defence also pointed out that both the accused and the mother, who are related, were both sexually assaulted by an uncle and that Revet never received any counselling for the abuse he suffered.
However, the bulk of Grimsrud's submission centred on concerns about Revet's cognitive ability and whether or not he had insight into his crimes.
"He is unsophisticated in his approach to the world," Grimsrud noted.
Those questions prompted Bazin to halt the sentencing and order a report on Revet's mental capacity as he noted he was not comfortable in making a decision without more information available to him.
Bazin also asked both the Crown and defence to look into what types of reports are available to gauge Revet's mental status. He then adjourned the case until July 23 when both sides will report to him on what reports are available and a decision will be made on how to proceed.
In other court proceedings, the three people arrested in a violent home invasion earlier this year had their case adjourned until July 23.
Peter McQuinn, Joseph Debigare and Alya Schachtel face a number of charges in relation to the incident which occurred in a local mobile home park.
Lawyers for the accused are expected back in court on the 23rd when they will set a date for preliminary trials for the trio.
