System needs 'pound of flesh,' says defence lawyer at RCMP officer's sentencing hearing
Meghan McCabe | CBC News | Posted: February 3, 2017 4:10 PM | Last Updated: February 3, 2017
Lawyers made submissions for sentencing in Cameron Lockhart assault case
Lawyers submitted their arguments Friday for an appropriate sentence in the assault case of RCMP Const. Cameron Lockhart, during a hearing at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John's.
A jury found Lockhart, 32, guilty of one charge of assault in November, after being accused of assaulting two women in the Bay Roberts area between 2009 and 2011.
He was acquitted of a number of other charges.
Crown prosecutor Jason House, who noted there was no victim impact statement for the sentencing hearing, said the aggravating factors in the case are the fact Lockhart is a police officer, it was a domestic assault. and he was on duty at the time.
The Crown argued Lockhart should be sentenced to 14 days at Her Majesty's Penitentiary, one year of unsupervised probation and a two-year ban from having a gun.
He also said Lockhart should submit a DNA sample to a national registry.
House arrest appropriate: defence
Lockhart's lawyer Nick Avis said 14 days of house arrest is an appropriate sentence.
Avis said the assault happened eight years ago, and that his client was much younger then. He added that Lockhart has suffered severe depression as a result of being charged, and has essentially been under house arrest since he was charged.
Avis also said Lockhart is a police officer and the system needs its "pound of flesh," but that could be satisfied by house arrest.
He said the incident didn't happen in public.
Avis also said if Lockhart is not allowed to have a gun, he cannot be a police officer.
He added that going to jail would also ruin his career.
House didn't challenge the request for house arrest.
When asked if he wanted to say anything, Lockhart thanked Judge Deborah Paquette for her professionalism and said it's been a long process for him.
He will be sentenced March 13.