Antigonish victim of domestic sexual assault frustrated by court delays
Janet Gillis doesn’t know if she’d do it again.
“If I didn’t have a kid, I’d probably just move away,” said Gillis.
“That’s not the way to deal with things, I know.”
On March 26, 2022, Gillis ran to her work truck in her Antigonish County yard, locked the doors and called the RCMP to report her partner.
As a result of that call, the RCMP charged Jackie Weldon Young with sexual assault and forcible confinement.
Nineteen months of legal challenges and delays have followed.
And despite a conviction, Young remains free in the community.
“Meanwhile my life’s been a mess,” said Gillis, who had the court lift the publication ban on her name as a victim of sexual assault so she could speak out.
“I’m in therapy, my daughter’s in therapy. We’re living in a Naomi Society safehouse with cameras everywhere.”
Young, who denied the allegations during trial, was found guilty on one count of sexual assault on Nov. 15, 2022, in Nova Scotia Provincial Court in Antigonish and was scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11, 2023.
“During the course of the sentencing hearing, which started to proceed, it came out that he identifies as an indigenous person, so a Gladue Report was requested and the matter was adjourned,” said Jonathan Gavel, the Crown attorney who tried the case.
Gladue reports are commissioned when someone found guilty of a crime identifies as indigenous. They are not required to have First Nations status or reside in a First Nation Community.
They are meant to inform a judge’s sentencing decision by taking into account factors such as the residential school system, experience in the child welfare and adoption system, effects of dislocation and dispossession of aboriginal peoples, poverty and other hard realities disproportionately faced by aboriginal peoples.
Unable to provide report
The Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network later notified the court that it was not able to provide a Gladue Report for Young.
That led to a Charter application by Young claiming that he has a right to have a report commissioned.
On Sept. 8, Judge Nicole Rovers dismissed Young’s Charter application and, 10 months after finding him guilty, sentenced him.
“These offenses do appear to fit a pattern of violence for Mr. Young,” said Rovers during the sentencing.
“Mr. Young appears to only act violently against women with whom he shares an intimate or domestic relationship.”
Between 2003 and 2011, Young was found guilty on three counts of assault, two counts of uttering threats and two counts of assault with a weapon.
Those convictions involved previous partners.
“I didn’t know,” said Gillis of the priors.
During her four-year relationship with Young, she said, there were other incidents.
At one point, she took her child and his from a previous relationship and stayed in a halfway house, before going back.
“We had (Child Protective Services) involved with us since 2020 and I didn’t report the other incidents because I didn’t want the children taken away,” said Gillis.
“The time I called the police, I was just done. I knew that if I didn’t do it now, I wasn’t getting out of there.”
‘Significant positive gains’
In her sentencing, Rovers noted the gap in charges from 2011 to 2022, the fact that he had long held down a job, had custody of his son and had friends who testified to the character of the man they knew.
“This gap in his record is not lost on the court,” said Rovers.
“And it is clear from a review of submissions by council that in that time Mr. Young did make significant positive gains in his life. Mr. Young did not have a nurturing foundation from which to learn to conduct himself in the world. But he nonetheless was able to create positive and therapeutic relationships.”
However, she added that the public face of a defendant can hide what happens behind closed doors.
“I agree with the dichotomy that exists between a person who lives an apparent law-abiding and positive public life while committing serious crimes in the privacy of their own home,” said Rovers.
“That is one of the hallmarks of domestic violence that makes it so hard to detect, hinders the reporting of complainants and ultimately provides significant challenges to the court in sentencing.”
Noting his responsibility as custodian of his son, and that he had complied with court orders to do with previous convictions, Rovers sentenced Young to a year’s conditional custody in his own home.
“I am satisfied given Mr. Young’s ability to comply with court orders, serving the sentence in the community under very strict conditions will not endanger its safety,” said Rovers.
For the first six months of the sentence, he’s only allowed to leave his property for legal and medical appointments and for three hours each week to obtain necessities. The remaining six months would see him allowed to return to work, but continue to abide by strict no-contact orders to do with Gillis, a curfew and a weapons ban amongst other conditions.
Gillis wanted jail time.
“I know he’s not done with me,” she said.
Appeal filed
Then, two weeks ago, Young filed a notice of appeal against both the verdict and the sentence.
That caused the sentence to be effectively put on hold – meaning he is not now subject to house arrest.
His appeal is scheduled to be heard on Feb. 2.
“I wouldn’t expect a ruling to be made on that day,” said Gavel.
“…I can appreciate even in the best of circumstances that the wait victims face when their case proceeds to criminal court can be frustrating. In a case like this, that had some complications that have exacerbated the timeline, it would be even worse. I know how taxing this whole process has been on Ms. Gillis. It’s certainly not lost on us what she’s had to go through.”
As it stands, Gillis doesn’t know what to do or whether it’s all been worth it.
“I don’t want to discourage other people from coming forward, but for me, my life’s been a mess,” said Gillis.
“I used to work two jobs but I dropped one because it was public facing. I’m lucky with my other job that I have a great boss who is a former cop and understands. I just don’t know.”
