A Mackenzie man was sentenced Friday to 90 days in jail, to be served on days off, followed by three years probation for stabbing a woman during a brawl outside a nightspot in the community north of Prince George.
Crown counsel had been seeking two years less a day plus three years probation - the maximum that can be served in a provincial jail - while defence counsel argued for three years probation with a suspended sentence.
In reaching his decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Grauer found the actions of Joshua James Currie, 35, on the night of Dec. 15, 2012 were out of character and has since backed up his expression of remorse with concrete action.
Currie no longer associates with the people he was with on that night, has since abstained from alcohol and is prepared to take counseling, and has consistently lived up to the terms of his bail for the last three years, Grauer noted.
However, Grauer added he remained troubled by the degree of injury the woman suffered and so concluded jail time was in order.
Grauer found Currie had stabbed the woman after she gained the upper hand in a fight with his then-spouse but then would not lay off, excessively delivering several unanswered blows.
Currie retrieved a utility tool from his truck, later claiming to the police he did so for "knuckle purposes." He went back to the scene, but then stepped back and opened out the tool's knife blade.
Currie, who had been drinking at the time and has consistently claimed he does not remember wielding the knife, stabbed the woman in her thigh, leaving a superficial wound at that spot.
But he also stabbed her in the stomach.
During a sentencing hearing earlier this week, the court heard the woman discovered she had been stabbed when she felt her intestines hanging outside her stomach after the fighting was over.
She ended up in hospital for a week and went through surgery for a perforated bowel in which about five centimetres of her intestine was taken out.
According to her victim impact statement, her abdomen has been permanently disfigured, she has digestive troubles, is suffering ongoing psychological trauma as well as financial consequences.
During the sentencing hearing, Currie apologized, saying he was "deeply sorry" for the pain he has caused the woman. On Friday, Grauer accepted that Currie's remorse was genuine.
Currie, who appeared relieved at Grauer's decision, has since split with his spouse at the time of the incident and is in a new relationship but continues to take care of their two children while also remaining employed.
