"Mr. Glasser, you are now in custody."
So Judge Jeffrey Kalmakoff closed his sentencing of Joseph Patrick Glasser on March 31 in Estevan provincial court, requiring him to serve the next 12 months in a provincial correctional centre. The 64-year-old Estevan resident previously pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy and former student 35 years ago.
After being handed the sentence, Glasser sat back down at the front of the courtroom. With his head in his hands, he rubbed his temples.
A group of three supporters gathered around him in the courtoom. As one hugged him in his chair, he broke into tears.
Glasser is a former principal at Sacred Heart School in Estevan, and taught in the area as a substitute after his retirement.
The decision came two weeks after Glasser's last appearance before Kalmakoff, when the Crown prosecutor was seeking a one-year prison term. Glasser's lawyer asked that the judge consider a sentence to be served in the community.
The severity of the aggravating factors played a large role in the decision to favour the custodial sentence over a community one.
"Abuse of a position of trust or authority is deemed to be an aggravating factor," said Kalmakoff.
Though Glasser was no longer the victim's teacher, Kalmakoff said he was still in a position of trust.
"Not only by virtue of his status as a former teacher, but also by his status as a trusted friend of the family. The offence was not a single occurrence. It was repeated over a three-year period."
Though there was an absence of violence or threats involved, the victim had expressed objection to Glasser's actions. He was in a position of "significant responsibility" dealing with a teenager, said Kalmakoff.
"Mr. Glasser was, and is, a high-functioning and intelligent adult, and is fully aware of the seriousness of this offence. The evidence suggests that he sought opportunities to be alone with the victim in order to commit the offence, and persisted in doing so over a significant period of time."
Kalmakoff continued, "The offences were not spontaneous; the accused created opportunities to be alone with the victim. The appropriate sentence for this type of offence, committed with the circumstances described, requires a period of imprisonment."
Glasser was between 28 and 31 at the time of the offences.
The mitigating factors Kalmakoff listed as Glasser's remorse, his acceptance of responsibility, a prompt guilty plea, his lack of criminal record and his care for conduct in the intervening years, which the judge said, "bordered on exemplary.
"In the considerable time that has passed since he committed the offences, Mr. Glasser has done more than simply stay out of trouble. He's been a positive and productive member of the community."
This was a fact Kalmakoff said he gave some consideration in his decision. Reading from the pre-sentence report, he called Glasser a low-risk to re-offend.
"I have no reason to believe that he would not comply by the conditions of a conditional sentence. I am satisfied that allowing Mr. Glasser to serve his sentence in the community would not endanger it."
Kalmakoff mentioned the principle of restraint, where a court must consider all reasonable sanctions other than imprisonment and should not resort to imprisonment unless such a sentences would be appropriate under the circumstances.
"I have considered all available sanctions other than imprisonment," said Kalmakoff. "Under the circumstances of this case, only a period of actual imprisonment would be adequate to address the serious nature of the offence committed by Mr. Glasser. In particular, I consider the intrusiveness of the conduct and the ages of the offender and the victim, and the position Mr. Glasser occupied in the relation to the victim to be extremely significant."
Considering the nature of the case, and the mitigating and aggravating factors, Kalmakoff said he felt a conditional sentence would not adequately reflect the need for denunciation and deterrence, which is the primary consideration in cases of child abuse.
Glasser is required to provide a DNA sample for the national databank, and he is prohibited from possessing any firearms or explosives. His name will be listed in the National Sex Offender Registry for the next 20 years and he will not be able to have any contact a child under the age of 16, except in the presence of another adult who has been notified of this conviction and is the parent or guardian of the child.
