Man who choked 5-year-old boy and tried to abduct 8-year-old girl sentenced to 40 months

A man who pleaded guilty to the attempted abduction of an eight-year-old girl near Stanley Park, the aggravated assault of a five-year-old boy in Surrey and three counts of assault involving correctional officers has been sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Nathaniel David Jessup — who has been in custody since his arrest in September 2015 — appeared in B.C. Supreme court in Vancouver with short brown hair, a goatee and dressed in a red tie-dye T-shirt. He stood up for most of Monday's sentencing hearing.

With time served, Jessup will spend five months in prison.

Justice Paul Pearlman asked Jessup whether he had anything to say to the court, to which he replied: "No."

5-year-old asphyxiated

Crown lawyer Gail Banning began Monday's hearing by recounting the details of the aggravated assault of a five-year-old-child in Surrey.

The court heard how Jessup was friends with a man who lived in a trailer in an alley behind the young boy's home.

The day before the offence, Jessup met the child's parents briefly and had a conversation.

The next day, Jessup went into their yard uninvited while the family had friends over for dinner. The boy's father told Jessup it wasn't a great time to be there, but the five-year-old asked Jessup to come look at the chickens in the family's coop.

Jessup proceeded to pick up the child with both arms, which made the boy's father uncomfortable. He then saw the man who owned the trailer down the alley and went to speak to him about Jessup.

Not long after, he saw Jessup in a squatted position with his child who appeared to be unwell.

"The father observed that [the boy's] body was limp, his head was flopping around on his shoulders. His limbs were hanging loosely," said Banning.

The boy later came to and the police were called to the home.

A doctor who testified in a preliminary hearing told the court it was clear the boy had been asphyxiated.

"When all the factors were put together it was difficult to come up with another diagnosis," said Banning.

The doctor said had the choking gone on longer, it could have caused permanent brain damage or death.

Attempted abductions

In September of 2015, Jessup grabbed an eight-year-old girl in an open-air parking lot near the north end of Denman Street by Stanley Park.

Banning told the court that the young girl was just metres behind her parents.

"[Jessup] grabbed her by the neck by holding his arm over her throat. He lifted her feet from the ground. She was able to breath but unable to speak," said Banning.

The girl was uninjured and her father eventually chased Jessup away.

Days later, Jessup grabbed a two-year-old girl while she was with her family near Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park. When the girl's father confronted the man, he released her and ran off.

The Vancouver Police department was called in, and after a brief chase, officers took Jessup into custody on Sept.7. 

Jessup also pleaded guilty to three counts of assault involving various correctional officers at the different facilities where he'd been held.

During Monday's hearing, Jessup's lawyer, Jeremy Jensen, described his client's tumultuous upbringing in and out of foster homes, his various run-ins with the law and drug abuse. He said his client suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

"Mr. Jessup is ultimately sorry for his actions. The actions pertaining to the children are largely unexplainable," said Jensen.

"At the time, he was off his prescribed medications, coupled with his substance abuse. It appears to have sparked some very odd and impulsive behaviour."