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Lethbridge Sex Offender Sentence for Teen Assault

Sep 8, 2017 | 12:26 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. – A convicted sex offender, who admitted to charges of break and enter and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, has been handed seven-and-a-half years in prison.

The actual sentence imposed by Judge Jerry LeGrandeur was 10-years, however, he then reduced it, after noting mitigating factors on the part of 59-year-old Darral Gerard Courtoreille.

LeGrandeur also gave Courtoreille a credit of time-and-a-half for his pre-trial custody, bringing the time remaining on the sentence down to six-years and four-months.

The Crown had been asking for 12-14 years in custody, while the defence recommended five years.

During a summation of his decision, LeGrandeur noted that Courtoreille had a very difficult childhood, marked by alcoholism, sexual abuse and an incestuous relationship with his siblings. He also suffers from severe alcohol use disorder, along with depression and anxiety.

The mitigating factors listed were Courtoreille’s guilty plea and the Gladue factor, which takes into account how his Aboriginal heritage impacted his life.

It was noted however, that a Gladue report could not be completed for Courtoreille, as he reported that he wasn’t sure if his father had ever attended a residential school, and that his father had disavowed his Cree ancestry. Despite that, LeGrandeur found that the Gladue factor applied, saying the “harm of colonialism” played a part in Courtoreille’s upbringing.

“He’s a product of the environment he grew up in,” stated LeGrandeur, later adding, “His actions in this case are rooted in his family background.”

Facts of the case

Around 3 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2016, the 15-year-old victim awoke and turned on the light in her bedroom, to find a stranger standing there.

She screamed, and Courtoreille told her that he had given a shot to her family members so they would be sleeping for some time.

When no one responded to her initial scream, the victim feared that he had killed her family and that she would be next if she didn’t do what he said.

Courtoreille told her he was drunk and that he knew he shouldn’t be there, but then said it might be worth it. He proceeded to sexually assault her over the course of about an hour, although his attempt to have intercourse with her failed. He told her she could ask him to stop, but when she did he continued.

After the assault, Courtoreille asked for the girl’s address so he could find her again, and she wrote it on a piece of paper which he put in his pocket. She then took pictures of his back with her phone as he prepared to leave.

Shortly after he left and the victim alerted her family, police arrived and took Courtoreille into custody not far from the home, finding the paper with the girl’s address still in his pocket.

Criminal history

In regard to his criminal history, Courtoreille was released from prison in January of 2004, after serving two years for sexual interference involving a minor. Then in May 2004, he pleaded guilty to another case of sexual interference of a minor. In December that same year, he was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

In December 2005, Courtoreille was released, with Lethbridge police warning that he would be living in the city, and was designated a high-risk offender after he refused to complete a rehabilitation program for sex offenders.