BY ANDREW SEYMOUR
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
AUGUST 11, 2009
A “calculating and callous” Ottawa man found guilty of putting the life of an elderly man at risk by allowing him to live in squalor received a precedent-setting jail sentence Tuesday.
Calling Daniel Jacques Chartrand’s conduct a “clear case of serious elder abuse,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Denis Power sentenced the 39-year-old to 12 months behind bars, the stiffest penalty ever handed down to someone convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life.
However, after receiving credit for time already served in custody, Chartrand will only have 87 days of the sentence left to serve.
Chartrand was found guilty in April following a 12-day trial that heard evidence of how he left 76-year-old retired federal public servant Harry Matthews to wallow in his own feces while squandering nearly $1 million of Matthews's assets on luxury cars and travel abroad.
The abuse came to light after Matthews, who suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, was found in August 2005 lying on his back on his bedroom floor.
Det. Christina Wolf from the Ottawa police elder abuse section, who investigated the crime, said it was “admirable and fitting” that the judge went beyond established precedents when sentencing Chartrand. However, she said she thought the sentence was “nowhere near” what it should have been.
“(The abuse) was despicable, it’s reprehensible, yet our justice system is bound by precedents,” said Wolf, who believes there needs to be new legislation creating a separate criminal offence dealing specifically with elder abuse.
“The investigation took longer than the sentence that will be served,” she said.
Search Right Col/Labels for More Posts/Resources
No comments:
Post a Comment