N.L. man faces two years for assault, confinement
Matthew O'Quinn, 34, to be sentenced Dec. 23 for forcible confinement, other charges
The Crown wants a western Newfoundland man to serve at least two years in prison for attacking a woman in the woods near Stephenville Crossing, and refusing to let her leave.
Matthew Francis O'Quinn, 34, was arrested in August.
He's been convicted of forcible confinement, assault, uttering threats and breaching a court order.
At his sentencing hearing Thursday, the Crown asked that O'Quinn serve between two and two and a half years. His lawyer is asking for 22 months.
O'Quinn, who has 41 prior convictions, will be sentenced Dec. 23.
He was arrested Aug. 9 in Flat Bay Brook on Newfoundland's west coast, hours after an employee at a convenience store in Stephenville Crossing reported that a woman was being assaulted there by a man. The woman, 18, later told police that she had been beaten, held hostage, and had her life threatened.
O'Quinn has been involved in at least two cases involving violence and women. He was convicted in 2004 of confinement, after a woman was held in a tent for 30 days. He also used a tree branch to beat the complainant.
In 2008, he pleaded guilty to assault involving another woman and was given a 20-month sentence.