An ex-Yellowknife gymnastics instructor who admitted to sending a sexually explicit photo to a girl he once coached received a one-year jail sentence on Tuesday.
Ricky Lee Sutherland, 50, pleaded guilty in May to luring a child under the age of 18, an offence that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail.
Sutherland, who was employed at a city gymnastics club in the summer of 2016, sent a number of messages to the victim via Snapchat — an app popular among young people which allows users to send and receive messages that disappear within seconds — over a two-day period in February 2017.
His penis was visible in at least one of the photos.
Sutherland, like all employees at the club, had been instructed not to befriend gymnasts online. He was fired after being confronted about the messages by the board of directors.
NWT Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau said Sutherland, an admired coach and a “very important person” in the victim’s life, violated a relationship built on trust when he sent the explicit image. Charbonneau, who was asked to consider an 18-month sentence by prosecutors, settled on the mandatory minimum after careful consideration, she said.
Charbonneau previously tossed about an application from Sutherland’s lawyer, who mounted a Charter challenge, arguing the mandatory sentence would amount to a cruel and unusual punishment for her client.
The girl once coached by Sutherland clearly suffered “a great deal of distress,” as a result of his actions, as shown in her victim impact statement, said Charbonneau.
The victim wrote Sutherland “shattered” their relationship, and that she physically shakes when hearing his name.
Charbonneau said it’s “extremely important” for the courts to send a clear message that these types of crimes won’t be tolerated, adding online child luring has been described as “virtual home invasion” in other cases.
Citing a handful of support letters submitted to the court from Sutherland’s family and friends, she said the offence was clearly “out of character.”
Sutherland has since pursued counselling, and is exploring behavioural cognitive therapy, the court heard.
Sutherland has been in custody after waiving his right to bail in the summer.
With credit for pre-trial custody, he has just over eight months left to serve behind bars.
Once released, Sutherland will be on probation for three years. He will be a registered sex offender for 20 years. He was also ordered to submit a sample to the national DNA database.