Close X
Thursday, December 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

Crown gives notice of appeal in sex assault case

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Aug, 2020 08:01 PM
  • Crown gives notice of appeal in sex assault case

The Alberta Crown has filed a notice of appeal over the sentence given to a former Edmonton nightclub employee convicted of sexually assaulting five women.

Matthew McKnight, 33, was sentenced to eight years in prison on July 31.

If the appeal is granted, the Crown says it will challenge the sentence on several grounds including that it's "demonstrably unfit."

McKnight was accused of sexually assaulting 13 women ranging in age from 17 to 22 between 2010 and 2016.

He pleaded not guilty but a jury convicted him on five counts.

Queen's Bench Justice Doreen Sulyma had assessed 16 1/2 years for the five counts — a number she reduced to eight years based on the "moral blameworthiness" of McKnight, his "excellent chances to rehabilitate" and that he was attacked by an inmate while at the Edmonton Remand Centre awaiting bail.

"A sentence of 16.5 years simply exceeds what would be just and appropriate," she said at the time.

The reduced sentence caused outbursts in the courtroom with one woman yelling, "you guys are monsters."

The Crown prosecution service said in the notice of appeal, which was filed Thursday, that the judge erred in her application of the totality principle and overemphasized mitigating factors.

The Crown says the sentence is also not proportionate to the moral gravity of the offences and is demonstrably unfit.

MORE National ARTICLES

COVID-19 tracing app starts beta testing

COVID-19 tracing app starts beta testing
A Canadian smartphone app meant to warn users if they've been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 is now in beta testing.

COVID-19 tracing app starts beta testing

Outbreaks leading to stigmatization: Hutterite minister

Outbreaks leading to stigmatization: Hutterite minister
A Manitoba Hutterite minister is telling the province to stop identifying colonies where members have tested positive for COVID-19 because it is leading to stigmatization.

Outbreaks leading to stigmatization: Hutterite minister

Review of RCMP needed: Indigenous leaders

Review of RCMP needed: Indigenous leaders
First Nations and Inuit leaders are urging Ottawa to launch an independent, civilian review of RCMP practices to start addressing the number of violent incidents between Mounties and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Review of RCMP needed: Indigenous leaders

Bus driver with one eye wins discrimination case

Bus driver with one eye wins discrimination case
A city bus driver whose licence was revoked after she lost her eye to cancer has won her battle to have the relevant provincial regulations declared unconstitutional.

Bus driver with one eye wins discrimination case

WATCH: Working From Home? Get Ready for Big Tax Breaks #covid19

WATCH: Working From Home? Get Ready for Big Tax Breaks #covid19
Some financial tax benefit for those who have turned their home into an office space during COVID-19. DARPAN’s Ish Sharma tells you all about the deduction.

WATCH: Working From Home? Get Ready for Big Tax Breaks #covid19

Man not criminally responsible in B.C. death

Man not criminally responsible in B.C. death
A man accused in a deadly shooting and aggravated assault last year in a church in British Columbia's southern Interior has been found not criminally responsible for the attacks.

Man not criminally responsible in B.C. death