A 40-year-old Quesnel man was sentenced Monday to a further five years and five months in prison largely for a series of sexual assaults on his wife.
The man, who cannot be named under a court-ordered publication ban against information that would identify the victim, had sexually assaulted the woman four or five times over a roughly year-long period ending in June 2012.
He was also convicted of assault and assault with a weapon following a B.C. Supreme Court trial in Prince George.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher called the assaults "entirely unjustified."
"There was no element or suggestion of provocation," he said. "This woman is truly an innocent victim."
The couple had been married in November 2011 after knowing each other for a very short time. He forced sex on the woman, including an occasion when she declined because she had a bladder infection, asserting that she had a duty as his wife to meet his needs, the court heard.
In all, the man was sentenced to seven years less 579 days credit for time served prior to sentencing, receiving 1.5-times credit for the 386 days he had already spent in custody since his arrest.
Of that total, six years were for the sexual assaults while he also received two consecutive terms of six months for two assaults also during that time and for assault with a weapon in October 2012.
On one occasion, the man slapped and punched the woman and then kicked her while she was down after she confronted him about his past. On another, she caught him looking at pornography on his cellphone and he pulled her over a couch, banging her eye against a coffee cup.
He was convicted of assault with a weapon for trying to hit her with a laptop computer which she warded off with her arms after he complained he couldn't reach her at work on her cellphone.
The man committed the acts while still serving probation for another sexual assault. He had also served time for assaulting another spouse on a previous occasion.
His record of a dozen offences also includes break and enter and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
A psychiatrist found the man shows a high likelihood of reoffending and meets the criteria for psychopathic personality disorder.
Kelleher said it was hard to find any mitigating factors but did note he overcame an addiction to crack cocaine, which "indicates he is capable of changing his behaviour."
The man nodded in acknowledgment when Kelleher warned him he will be a candidate for dangerous offender status if he is convicted of a similar crime ever again.
The dangerous offender designation is among the toughest sentences available under the Criminal Code, with no opportunity for parole for at least seven years. Even if parole is granted, dangerous offenders remain under supervision for the rest of their lives.
