N.S. man sentenced to 4 years in prison for historical sexual assault

A man from Voglers Cove, N.S., has been sentenced to four years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl more than four decades ago.

Justice Diane Rowe of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court sentenced Michael Lynn Wentzell, 72, on Wednesday afternoon.

Rowe had convicted him of sexual assault in October of last year following a trial.

Wentzell denied the assault took place. 

The court heard the victim was acquainted with Wentzell at the time of the assault in 1982 and she reported it to her family shortly afterward. Her mother went to police but nothing came of it. The victim went back to police years later, the allegations were investigated and Wentzell was charged.

The Crown and defence made sentencing submissions in July of this year.

Wentzell's lawyer, Matthew Fancy, asked the judge to consider house arrest. Failing that, Fancy proposed a prison term of no more than four years.

Crown prosecutor Sharon Goodwin argued for a sentence of eight to 10 years.

"The sentence is not in line with exactly what the defence wants. It's not in line with exactly what the Crown wants," Goodwin said outside court. "But that's the nature of the adjudicative process. You present a position to the court and they have to make a difficult decision from there."

Sentencing decision

Justice Rowe said a conditional sentence or house arrest were not appropriate in this case because the emphasis had to be on denunciation and deterrence.

The judge cited the results of a pre-sentence report and forensic assessment in her decision, saying they show Wentzell does not believe his actions were harmful to children.

The reports also suggested Wentzell was concerned about his own health and how he might cope in prison. But the judge found none of his medical conditions warranted a lesser sentence or involved issues that could not be dealt with in prison.

The judge noted that two of Wentzell's adult children want nothing to do with him, but his current wife still supports him and described the allegations against her husband as "fraudulent." 

His wife accompanied him to court when sentencing arguments were made in July, but he came to court alone for his sentencing on Wednesday.

When Wentzell completes his prison sentence, Justice Rowe said he will be subject to three years of probation with strict conditions. He must stay away from his victim, from people under 16 and from places children frequent, such as playgrounds. He must also abstain from drugs and alcohol and must not possess weapons.

DNA added to national database

Wentzell's DNA goes into a national database and his name is on the national sex offender registry for the rest of his life.

The judge also crafted a special internet restriction for Wentzell: he may only go online for banking, to communicate with government officials or for health care.

Wentzell has a prior conviction for sexually assaulting another young girl he knew. While that conviction came first, the crime was committed after the assault he was sentenced for this week.