'Send a message' — Crown suggests 5 years in prison for former Sudbury track coach, defence wants probation

A former Sudbury track coach will find out early in the new year if he'll be spending any of 2021 behind bars for two sexual assaults, separated by more than 25 years. 

David Case was convicted of the two assaults in March.

On Tuesday, the 58-year-old appeared at a sentencing hearing for sexually assaulting one of his teenaged runners at a downtown Sudbury hotel in 1985. 

Case later married the girl in secret shortly after she turned 18 and was also convicted of physically assaulting her in the next few years. 

The Crown is asking the judge to send Case to prison for five years, while the defence is arguing for three years probation. 

The court heard a victim impact statement read over Zoom from the woman, who cannot be identified under a court-ordered publication ban.

"I'm not here to tell you how much you terrified me," she told Case.

"I promised myself I would never be your victim."

The woman told Case about all the homes and cars she owns and what a great life she has lived in the some 30 years since they parted.

"You almost convinced me I would never amount to anything without you," she said.

Defence lawyer Nicholas Xynnis called the statement "unusual" and a "catalogue of one's material success" and advised the judge not to consider it.

He said for a sexual assault, the facts of this case are somewhat "benign" and questioned how much "impact" this had on the woman, considering she stayed with Case for several years after the sexual assault.

Xynnis also detailed the harassment Case says he's faced in the nearly four years since he was first charged, including alleged physical altercations with people shouting racist comments at him. 

"The suffering that he has undergone should mitigate the sentence," says Xynnis.

The defence argued that three years probation is an appropriate sentence, partly because he has no criminal record and has led a "fairly productive and pro-social life."

However, Case has also been convicted of a sexual assault from 2011, when he and former star sprinter Celine Loyer drugged a woman and assaulted her at Case's Sudbury home. 

The sentencing hearing for those charges is scheduled for Jan. 13.  

"We cannot ignore that fact when assessing the risk of re-offending," says assistant Crown attorney Stephanie Baker.

She told the court that Case entered into an "exploitive" relationship with a teenager, who has thankfully recovered from those years.

"But you cannot take away from that the 10 years of her life that she will never have back," Baker said.

She cited a Supreme Court decision calling for stiffer penalties for sexual offences involving minors and spoke about the widespread effect when someone in a position of authority, such as a coach, betrays the public's trust. 

"This type of offence has a huge impact not only on the victim, but on society at large," Baker said, advising the court to "send a message" that this won't be tolerated. 

Justice Alexander Kurke was prepared to hand down the sentence on Tuesday afternoon, but when he learned that Case wasn't prepared for sentencing, instead put it off until Jan. 4.