A Winnipeg man who kidnapped his two kids and hid them in Mexico is expected to learn his fate today.
Kevin Maryk pleaded guilty in June to kidnapping his children in 2008 and keeping them in a heavily guarded home in Mexico for four years.
His sentencing hearing dragged on over the summer before a judge heard final arguments in August.
Judge Ted Lismer reserved his decision until today.
The Crown wants a five-year sentence, saying Maryk kept the kids out of school and forced them to live as virtual prisoners in a heavily guarded house in Mexico.
The defence says Maryk made a mistake based on concern for his children and wants his immediate release based on credit for time served in Canada and Mexico.
Defence lawyer Todd Bourcier said Maryk was worried the children's mother was returning to a life of prostitution and drug use. There is no chance Maryk would attempt to abduct Dominic or Abby again, he said.
Bourcier told the judge Maryk is not "the monster the Crown is making him out to be" but rather "a father who made a bad mistake.''
Maryk took his children from his former wife, Emily Cablek, during a court-ordered visit on Aug. 16, 2008, shortly after Cablek was awarded custody. At the time, Abby was about to turn six and Dominic was seven.
Police got a break in the case in 2012 when a neighbour in Guadalajara called authorities after recognizing the children in a Crime Stoppers video that aired in Mexico. They were brought back to their mother in Winnipeg.
In a recorded police statement played for the judge, Cablek said both kids have struggled to catch up in school and make friends since they returned. She said she is terrified something terrible will happen again and worries about her children being in contact with their father.
Crown attorney Debbie Buors alleged the children were exposed to prostitution, drugs and alcohol in Mexico and were only taken out of their home at night. She told the judge the house where they were kept had cameras inside and out, thick chains on the outside door and bars on the main door.
