Crown seeks probation for veteran who groped waitress at Halifax bar

HALIFAX, N.S. — Is it necessary for a Whites Lake man to have a criminal record for touching a waitress at a Halifax bar on the genitals in April 2022?

That’s the decision a Halifax provincial court judge must make at a sentencing hearing for Dave Odrowski, who pleaded guilty this spring to a charge of sexual assault rather than go to trial.

Crown attorney Steve Degen is recommending a sentence of two years’ probation for Odrowski, a 60-year-old Navy veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has no previous criminal convictions.

During sentencing submissions last week, Degen said a conditional discharge sought by the defence would not be appropriate in the circumstances.

“(The victim) obviously has a right to perform her job without feeling that something like this might happen,” the prosecutor said.

“I would characterize it as an aggravating factor that this happened at her place of employment.”

Degen said someone might have received a discharge for an offence like this 10 or 15 years ago, but society has changed since then.

“We’ve learned a lot,” he said. “It’s no longer socially acceptable to even entertain such an argument that grabbing someone, even if but for a moment, on their breast or vagina should be perceived as being a minor offence that would be worthy of receiving a conditional discharge.

“For those reasons, the Crown is not agreeable to a conditional discharge for Mr. Odrowski.”

Judge Christine Driscoll reserved her decision until Oct. 5.

The court heard that Odrowski committed the offence April 28, 2022, while at a bar with two friends he used to work with in the military. The Chronicle Herald is not naming the drinking establishment because of a publication ban on the identity of the victim.

Degen said the server was clearing the table when Odrowksi reached out with his right hand and used two fingers to touch her vagina over her clothing “in a manner that was described as inward and up.”

The woman immediately became upset and uncomfortable and left the area, the Crown attorney said.

‘What did you do?’

“Two gentlemen the accused was with were sitting there, both shocked by the incident,” Degen said. “One of the friends confronted the accused about the incident and said, ‘What did you do?’

“The accused replied, ‘I touched her p—y. … Have another beer.’”

Police arrived, looked at security video of the incident and spoke with the manager, who had kicked Odrowski out of the bar. One of Odrowksi’s friends provided a statement to police and identified him as the culprit.

“When they interviewed the accused, he confirmed that he was the gentleman in the CCTV still image, and he did admit to touching the waitress and stated that he was so sorry,” Degen said.

The victim did not provide an impact statement for the sentencing hearing but asked the prosecutor to relay that she is trying to forget that the incident happened, but it has really affected her job.

“(She) had some residual problems and concerns about dealing, specifically, with drunk males in her place of employment,” Degen said.

The Crown attorney said he had difficulty accepting the defence’s position that Odrowski’s PTSD – specifically a lack of impulse control – may have played a role in the commission of the offence. He noted that a letter from a therapist indicated that Odrowski struggles with impulse control when confronted about something or when he perceives he’s being treated in a certain way.

“It’s just hard for me to reconcile this diagnosis as impacting his degree of responsibility for grabbing a waitress in the manner he did,” Degen said.

‘Very strange’

Considering Odrowksi’s comment immediately afterward, “it does not seem like something that came with a complete absence of thought (and) was a completely impulsive act. Obviously, it’s very strange, especially for a man with no criminal record.

“I don’t know what his motivations were. I don’t know that I can tie a connection to this being related to post-traumatic stress.”

Degen said the probation order should include conditions prohibiting Odrowksi from consuming alcohol or other intoxicating substances outside his residence and from being under the influence of alcohol unless he’s at home.

He also asked that the judge order Odrowksi to perform 25 hours of community service and participate in any counselling deemed necessary by his probation officer.

In addition, he wants Odrowksi banned from having any contact with the victim and from being within 15 metres of her workplace or residence.

Conditional discharge

Defence lawyer Laura McCarthy was OK with the probation order, but she requested that it be accompanied by a conditional discharge. If Odrowski were to successfully complete his probation, he would not have a criminal conviction.

McCarthy said Odrowski likes to travel to the United States, so it would obviously be in his best interest to not have a permanent criminal record because of this event, which she said was at the low end of the spectrum of sexual assaults.

The issue, she said, is whether a discharge would be contrary to the public interest. She said the primary sentencing objectives of denunciation and deterrence can be achieved without her client having a criminal record.

“When we look at his circumstances, I would suggest the PTSD is quite severe,” McCarthy said. “It’s quite clear he’s been receiving treatment for decades. This is something he’s going to be living with for the rest of his life.

“I appreciate (the prosecutor’s) concern about the connection of the impulse control to this specific incident. There are no specific answers in terms of why it happened. It was impulsive. There was no provocation.

“Any reasonable person would control himself in such circumstances.”