A Deline man convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman during a 2016 break and enter was handed a 2 year, 8 month sentence in NWT Supreme Court Friday.
Calling the incident a “profound” violation of the victim’s security and “sexual integrity,” Judge Karan Shaner sentenced Anthony Betsidea, 42, to two years and 8 months in prison for breaking and entering with intent and sexual assault, respectively.
In the early hours of March 27, 2016, Betsidea entered a Deline residence through an unlocked door. A woman, asleep in the living room, awoke to Betsidea “tugging” at her pants. The court heard Betsidea said “please,” before the victim kicked at him and told him to leave. Betsidea exited the home after being told a second time by the victim.
The decision struck a medium between sentencing submissions, made on Thursday, by Betsidea’s defence, Leslie Moore, and Crown prosecutor Jeannie Scott.
Calling the break and enter and subsequent assault a “crime of opportunity,” Scott highlighted Betsidea’s long history of convictions for breaking and entering – 11 in total – in her request for a two and a half to three year prison sentence. Scott said sentencing should send a message that sexual assaults committed on sleeping victims – a type of offence she called “all too common in this jurisdiction” – will not be tolerated.
Noting the sexual assault wasn’t deemed “major,” Moore asked for a 16 to 18 month sentence. It was also noted that Betsidea’s previous convictions for breaking and entering occurred at businesses – not homes – and were committed to support his substance abuse habits.
Betsidea was convicted of the March charges on Nov. 6.
According to the victim’s impact statement, read in court by the Crown, the woman was left feeling “damaged” as a result of the incident she said put her through trauma.
While Judge Shaner said she couldn’t find any mitigating factors related to the offence, she weighed Betsidea’s background – including a childhood “plagued by violence and substance abuse” and his experience as a residential school survivor – in making her sentencing decision. But, the fact the assault occurred in the context of a break and enter, coupled with Betsidea’s continued trend of breaking and entering despite knowing the consequences, were also considered, she said.
Betsidea, Judge Shaner said, “violated the sanctity” of the victim’s home, stating it must have been “terrifying” to awake to an assault already in progress.
Adding the prevalence of sexual assault cases in the territory is “rampant,” Judge Shaner said the type of crime is “something we see in this court all too often.”
As per probation conditions after his release, Betsidea is prohibited from possessing firearms, but is allowed to apply for an exception for the purpose of hunting. Time already served – 142 days – will be deducted from Betsidea’s term.