An HIV-infected father has been sentenced to three years in jail for sexually assaulting his 5-year-old daughter, after giving her gonorrhea but blaming the infection on dirty linens.
Superior Court Justice Bonnie Croll said the young victim was "a helpless child who loved and trusted her father," adding that the girl may suffer from infertility later in life.
The 47-year-old father, who cannot be identified to protect the victim, was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual touching. The incidents occurred in July 2001.
He was also ordered to provide a DNA sample and be registered in the federal sex offenders' database.
While the father is HIV-positive, no evidence was presented in court that he passed the infection on to his daughter.
Despite admitting that he gave his daughter gonorrhea, he denied having any sexual contact with the child.
At trial, defence lawyer Allan Lobel argued that the disease may have been passed on indirectly, through used towels, bed sheets or dirty laundry. It was an argument rejected by Justice Croll.
"By passing gonorrhea on to his young daughter, (he) caused her severe physical discomfort," the Toronto Star reported Croll said.
"Sexual assault of a child cannot be tolerated and must be denounced."
Crown prosecutor Colleen Hepburn asked the court for a sentence of eight to 10 years for the offences, arguing the man had penetrated his daughter.
But Croll said there was only one statement from the girl about that, leaving reasonable doubt about penetration.
The defence asked for a conditional sentence of two years less a day. Lobel asked that the sentence be served under house arrest. He brought evidence to suggest his client would not get the health care he requires while in prison.
Lobel also said the man was the only caregiver for his sick mother.
Croll rejected both arguments, saying prisons are equipped to deal with HIV-positive inmates and that the man's family was large enough to care for the woman.
With files from The Canadian Press
