A man who threatened to kill his infant daughter during an argument with his spouse will not be able to go near his family for a year.
In Inuvik Territorial Court Nov. 25 the man, who will not be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded guilty to uttering threats and failure to comply with an undertaking. Judge Robert Gorin placed him on house arrest for 30 days, barred him from contacting his spouse or children for a year and prohibited him from owning a firearm for five years.
"I can tell you I did find the threats you uttered extremely disturbing," said Gorin in his decision. "To threaten to your partner that you would hurt your child is quite abhorrent.
"You could have received a jail term of up to six months."
Crown prosecutor Nakita McFadden told court on Jan. 14, the man got into a fight with his girlfriend at their shared residence.
The woman left the residence. Shortly thereafter, the man called her and told her she had 20 minutes to get home, or she would "never see their daughter again."
Taking the statement as a threat to their daughter's life, the woman called RCMP. A few minutes later, the man texted her, telling her he was "just testing her."
"No cops," read the text messages. "They would not make it in."
McFadden added the man continued to threaten his daughter in texts to his girlfriend, telling her that if police came into their house, "We're both dead."
Police arrested the man and he was released on conditions which included not contacting his girlfriend or children. However, on July 18, the girlfriend contacted RCMP and asked them to check on their daughter. When they checked the couple's home, they found the daughter hiding from the man.
"This occurred in the context of an intimate partner relationship and the subject of the threats was his own child," said McFadden, noting the man had spent 11 days in custody on the matter prior to his appearance in court.
The man will serve his house arrest at a relative's home.