Dartmouth child molester caused victim ‘immeasurable’ trauma: Judge

A Dartmouth repeat offender has been sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing a vulnerable girl for more than six years.

Wade Freeman, 61, was sentenced Friday in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on charges of sexual interference.

“The trauma you have caused the victim in this case is immeasurable and the effects of your actions will be everlasting,” Judge John Bodurtha told Freeman.

“Your actions are indefensible and will not be tolerated.”

In 1999, Freeman was sentenced to 17 months in prison plus probation after pleading guilty in the Supreme Court to five counts of sexual assault and one count of solicitation of sexual assault.

Those charges involved four girls between the ages of eight and 15. Freeman was known as Douglas Mandy at the time.

In this case, the prosecution said Freeman began molesting her in 2012, when she was eight years old. She testified at the 2021 trial that the abuse began as touching her “private parts” and progressed to sexual intercourse when she was 13.

Freeman, who identifies as female, denied the allegations. She told the court that she could not have had intercourse with the girl because she is a eunuch. She also claimed that medications she was taking prevented her from getting an erection.

The judge found Freeman guilty in March 2022 of both charges she faced during the trial: sexual interference and assault.

The assault charge was stayed prior to sentencing.

Crown attorneys Will Mathers and Tiffany Thorne asked for a 10-year prison sentence, which was the maximum sentence when Freeman committed the crime.

Defense attorney Patrick Eagan, the sixth attorney to represent Freeman since the indictment was filed in February 2018, made no specific recommendation but said “there is no question that the facts of the case are extremely serious and require a mid-grade. imprisonment.”

In July 2010, Freeman was fined $1,000 and placed on two years’ probation for violating a ban against being around children.

In February 2020, Freeman was sentenced to three months in prison and 15 months probation on charges of violating a publication ban on the identity of the last accuser and violating parole terms by mentioning her in several posts on Facebook.

Position of trust

In his sentencing decision last week, Bodurtha noted that Freeman was in a position of trust and authority when she met the girl, knew she was in a vulnerable situation and proceeded to groom and abuse her over a number of years.

The judge said numerous mitigating factors were present when Freemen was convicted in 1999. Freeman had pleaded guilty, had no prior convictions, sought treatment after being charged, and agreed to undergo a forensic sexual conduct assessment, which she deemed low-risk. relapse.

“Wade is no longer considered to be at low risk of reoffending,” Bodurtha said. “Wade has already received a rehabilitation sentence and has been offended again.

“The fact that Wade does not believe she has done anything wrong and does not want to participate in any kind of rehabilitation programs or sex offender assessment increases Wade’s risk of recidivism. … Wade insists she is innocent and blames the victim’s family without showing any remorse.

“This behavior is dangerous and demonstrates that the treatment/therapy Wade received in the past was ineffective and demonstrates the need to separate Wade from society.”

‘Innocent Victims’

Bodurtha said that when convicting offenders for sex crimes against children, charges and deterrence should be taken into account first.

“Too many young, innocent victims have already been affected by Wade’s actions,” he said.

The judge deducted 1,305 days from the eight-year sentence as credit for Freeman’s time on remand, giving her a net sentence of four years and 156 days. He ordered Freeman to have no contact with the victim or her family while she served her sentence.

Freeman was required to provide a DNA sample and will be on the national sex offender registry 20 years after her release. Bodurtha also imposed a lifetime gun ban and a 20-year injunction prohibiting Freeman from having contact with children and visiting places where children are likely to be present.

In an out-of-court interview, Mathers said the victim was a “remarkably strong and brave young woman” who had been prosecuted for five years.

“This is the longest non-appeal prosecution I’ve been involved in,” Mathers said. “I think Wade Freeman was adept at securing postponement after postponement.

“However, I think the public can and should be satisfied with the clear message this strong sentence sends. Looking at it from the outside, it can be tempting to get frustrated with how long this took. I suppose the wheels of justice turn slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.