A man now serving a 16-year prison sentence for 11 sex-related crimes against two of his stepdaughters was issued a concurrent one-year term Wednesday for strapping a stepson on a near daily basis for as long as six years.
The man, now 56 years old and who cannot be named under a court-ordered publication ban against information identifying the victims, used a ruler or a wooden spoon three to four times a week, starting when the stepson was about eight years old.
At the start, he would strike the stepson up to 20 times, but as he grew older, the number rose to 90 times on some occasions, sometimes leaving him with bruising.
The man would also lecture the stepson for "hours at a time, regarding his life, religion and how he was going down the wrong path," although it appeared his biggest transgression was to steal candy from a cupboard, the court was told.
The punishment was issued not "out of a loss of temper" but because of a belief the discipline was appropriate. But the man now acknowledges it was excessive, the court heard.
The stepson moved out of the home at age 13 to live with an older sibling.
In issuing the sentence, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker agreed with a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels after the man had pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon.
In a January sentencing decision on the crimes against the stepdaughters, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly characterized the man as "evil" and a "monster." The man often invoked religion to get his way with the two girls, the court heard during a seven-week trial.
An appeal of the decision and the sentence's length have since been filed, the court heard Wednesday.
