In Calgary courts: Calgary man who lured 13-year-old over internet, had her send graphic photos handed prison term
Article content
Justice Jayme Williams said that while the 3½-year sentence sought by the Crown was excessive, a conditional sentence to be served in the community wouldn't adequately punish Jade Joven Fenton on charges of luring a minor and possession of child pornography.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Defence counsel Andrew MacKenzie had sought the maximum conditional sentence of two years less a day for Fenton, but Williams said that wouldn't adequately reflect the consequences of his crimes.
Article content
Article content
The Calgary Court of Justice judge acknowledged Fenton's tragic past, both personally and within his family history.
Article content
At his sentencing hearing in May, MacKenzie put the offender's grandmother on the witness stand to detail the generations of sexual abuse family members endured.
Article content
'It was not something that was ever dealt with.'
Article content
She recalled initially learning about her grandfather abusing his own daughters.
Article content
'I was sexually abused at seven years old by a foster sister, and at 12 years old by my uncle, and then at 17 years old I was raped by a motorcycle gang.'
Article content
Article content
She told MacKenzie that created an element of distrust and inability to form relationships by members of her family, including Fenton.
Article content
'My father was a pedophile and so was my mother.'
Article content
Williams acknowledged Fenton, who is Metis and comes from an Indigenous family impacted by colonialism and residential school abuse, was also himself sexually molested as a child.
Article content
But she said that didn't excuse his decision to take advantage of a 13-year-old girl who had gone to an online site for people looking for friends.
Article content
Williams noted Fenton, 23 at the time, steered their internet discussions towards sex.
Article content
'It was Mr. Fenton who converted the conversations from friendly to sexual by asking her for nude photographs,' the judge said.
Article content
She also said the impact on the victim, identified in court as E.M., was severe.
Article content
'It is clear she continues to process the emotional trauma resulting from these offences,' Williams said.
Article content
She added, 'Often victims of luring feel they actively participated in their own abuse.'
Article content
While the offender and victim never met, Fenton convinced the teen they were in love and would run away and get married when she turned 18.
Article content
'Mr. Fenton has had a difficult life to this point … but he knew from the beginning that E.M. was 13,' Williams said.
Article content
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘An eye for an eye'
Surrounded by loved ones in a Winnipeg court Friday, the father of a slain First Nation woman spoke of the pain of his loss and the desperation it caused, his voice taut with sadness and anger. The Manitoba's Court of King's Bench held an unusual hearing Friday to hear from the family and community of Ashlee Christine Shingoose, a year after Jeremy Skibicki was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 25 years for killing her and three other First Nations women in 2022. 'It's been a tough, tough year for us family… The court failed me,' her father, Albert Shingoose, told King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal, in a voice that boomed through the room, distraught over the fact his daughter's killer did not appear at the hearing. Albert and Theresa Shingoose, parents of Ashlee Shingoose, who was murdered by Jeremy Skibicki, are greeted by supporters outside the Manitoba Law Courts after they presented their victim impact statements to the court on Friday. 'If he was here, your honour, I would have said to him, 'I want an eye for an eye.'' Shingoose, a 30-year-old from St. Theresa Point First Nation, was identified after the trial as one of Skibicki's victims. She is believed to have been killed in March 2022. During the trial and sentencing last year, Shingoose, whose remains had yet to be identified, was referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given by Indigenous elders. 'It's so painful, what has happened,' Shingoose's mother Theresa Shingoose told court, her voice halting and quiet. She said it was healing when police, this week, gave the family the jacket her daughter was last seen wearing. In a written statement, which was read by St. Theresa Point Chief Raymond Flett, Albert Shingoose said he travelled to Winnipeg from the family's home in St. Theresa Point after his daughter disappeared, spending months searching for her. Ashlee Shingoose 'We knew something terrible had happened. We felt it in our hearts,' Flett read. 'We felt like we were left to search on our own.' Albert Shingoose long believed his daughter was Skibicki's unidentified victim, but said no one would listen. 'For the longest time, Ashlee remained unidentified, while we were out here, screaming into silence,' Flett read. The chief also read out a statement on behalf of the community. Albert Shingoose, father of Ashlee Shingoose, is comforted outside the Manitoba Law Courts before they entereto present victim impact statements to the court on Friday. 'Her death has broken our hearts and shaken our community,' said Flett. 'To the person responsible, you took Ashlee from us. But you'll never take away her spirit. We will speak her name, we will remember her love, we will keep her memory alive. You have brought darkness, but her light will continue to shine in our hearts forever.' As Shingoose had yet to be identified, her family and friends did not get the chance to provide statements to the court at Skibicki's sentencing, as the families of Rebecca Contois, 24, Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, did. Winnipeg police homicide detectives used DNA, in conjunction with Skibicki identifying a photos of Shingoose as his first victim after his sentencing, to confirm who Buffalo Woman was. After she was publicly identified in March, Crown prosecutors raised the idea of the special sitting to put the family and community's victim impact statements on the court record, to which Joyal agreed. Shingoose family and supporters of Ashlee Shingoose, gathered outside the Manitoba Law Courts before they entered to present victim impact statements to the court. Shingoose's body has not yet been found, but a preliminary search began at the Brady Road landfill, where police believe the remains of Shingoose were taken, Premier Wab Kinew said earlier this week. Skibicki, who's in his late 30s, targeted women at homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins. He admitted the killings to homicide detectives, after the partial remains of Contois were discovered by a passerby in a bin in May 2022. He gave police the name of an individual he thought was Buffalo Woman, but she turned out to be alive, and the unidentified woman's name remained unknown. The rest of Contois's remains were found at Brady landfill in 2022, while the remains of Harris and Myran were recovered earlier this year at the Prairie Green landfill, north of the city. Addressing the packed courtroom before the proceedings began, Joyal said the court had no jurisdiction to order or insist the serial killer attend. Albert Shingoose, father of Ashlee Shingoose, gestures in front of a banner for missing person Tanya Nepinak as he leaves the Manitoba Law Courts Friday. Among those in the gallery were family members of Skibicki's other victims and their supporters, as well as senior Winnipeg police officials. Lawyer Peter Kingsley, who's the executive director of Legal Aid Manitoba, appeared as the killer's counsel at the hearing. He said Skibicki did not attend out of a 'firm belief' his presence would further harm his victims' loved ones. Joyal said holding the hearing, which had 'no or little precedent,' was appropriate and necessary in the exceptional circumstances of the case, to give Shingoose's family and community 'some measure of comfort.' Joyal also said the special hearing served as an opportunity for reconciliation between the justice system and Indigenous people, in a case that has been emblematic of the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Manitoba and across Canada. 'This hearing presents this court with an opportunity to try to respond to one of the inherent challenges at the heart of this crisis — that so many Indigenous women and girls are both murdered and missing, that they simply disappear, leaving behind broken families and devastated communities,' said Joyal. A small group of women drum for Albert and Theresa Shingoose, parents of Ashlee Shingoose, as they leave the Manitoba Law Courts Friday. 'This reality beseeches us — where circumstances allow — to make special efforts, to use the tools available to the courts, to honour and commemorate identity, to acknowledge personhood.' Erik PinderaReporter Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik. Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Elliot Lake woman admits drugs, gambling led her to steal from her employer
A woman from Elliot Lake, Ont., admits that her drug and gambling addictions led her to steal at least $60,000 from her employer, but denies claims from the Crown that her theft was closer to $800,000. (File) A woman from Elliot Lake, Ont., admits that her drug and gambling addictions led her to steal at least $60,000 from her employer, but denies claims from the Crown that her theft was closer to $800,000. Her lawyer wants to call witnesses to back her claims, but the Crown argued that such testimony could stray into areas that affect solicitor-client confidentiality, since her former employer is a lawyer. In a decision released last month, the judge in the case ruled the questions could proceed, provided the defence was careful in the way she crafted her questions. The case itself dates back several years. Stephenie Chevis worked for a law firm in Elliot Lake, with duties that included bookkeeping. She was hired in 2007 and was fired in 2017 when her theft was discovered. Transaction details Her defence lawyer wants to raise details of transactions handled by the firm in an effort to prove that some of the thefts were, in fact, legitimate transactions, while others were the responsibility of someone else. Chevis pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of fraud over $5,000. The court heard that she often worked at night, explaining that she said she 'found it easier to do her accounting software work at night when no other employees were using the computer.' By 2016, the lawyer she worked for started getting suspicious. 'Despite working full-time, he found he was unable to draw personal funds from the business, as the firm's general account was dipping into the negative,' the court decision said. So he installed security cameras and told Chevis to stop working at night. 'In April and May 2017, Ms. Chevis was surveilled entering the office after midnight and she was terminated from employment in June 2017,' the decision said. Traced back to her An investigation uncovered a number of irregularities that were traced back to her. When her lawyer contacted her, she quickly confessed. 'Ms. Chevis broke down and told him she had stolen some money the previous year, in the amount of $60,000 to $70,000,' the court said. 'Ms. Chevis was arrested on Sept. 7, 2022. During a video interview with the North Bay OPP, she explained that her conduct was the result of drug and gambling addictions. She admitted to taking $60,000. That remains the extent of Ms. Chevis's admission and the basis for her plea of guilt.' She admitted to issuing checks to her benefit or that of her former spouse. She used some of the money to pay her personal bills, while other cheques were deposited into her accounts at various financial institutions. During a video interview with the North Bay OPP, she explained that her conduct was the result of drug and gambling addictions. She admitted to taking $60,000. — Superior court decision The lawyer she worked for was left in dire straits and was forced to remortgage his home, use his line of credit and cash in more than $300,000 in RRSPs. During a hearing Dec. 10, 2024, Chevis's lawyer was cross-examining a former employee from the law firm when she paused to raise an issue. She wanted to ask questions about three transactions, but was concerned about whether the answers would raise 'potential issues of solicitor-client privilege,' the court decision said. 'It is important to note that Ms. Chevis explicitly waived any solicitor-client privilege she may have had in respect of any of these transactions … The privilege concerns were with respect to (the law firm's) other clients as potential privilege-holders.' The 'Lottery Winner' Specifically, the defence wanted to raise the case of a client of the firm dubbed 'the Lottery Winner,' who won a large amount of money and left it in a trust with the firm. Other cases involved private mortgages given to Chevis using other unnamed clients' funds. 'Ms. Chevis proclaims to have knowledge of these transactions already,' the decision said. 'She is not seeking production. She is simply seeking to elicit the evidence.' The Crown argued that these cases involve solicitor-client privilege, something that can only be breached in specific cases, such as when it's the only way to prove someone's innocence. 'To engage the exception, the Crown submits, an accused must show that she is otherwise unable to raise a reasonable doubt as to her guilt and that there is a risk of wrongful conviction,' the decision said. 'The Crown emphasizes that a finding of guilt has already been made in this case and the proceedings before the court involve sentencing.' Public documents However, Justice Graham Jenner ruled that once something like a mortgage or a will has been executed, it becomes a public document. 'I have difficulty … with the notion that a legal instrument such as a will, a power of attorney, or a private mortgage, could possibly remain covered by solicitor-client privilege once the instrument is acted on, and enters the public sphere,' Jenner said. 'Indeed, when this question was put to the parties, they agreed that it would seem illogical to protect the existence of such public-facing instruments within the scope of the privilege.' As long as the questions were limited in scope to cases no longer covered by privilege, the judge ruled that questions would be allowed to be put to witnesses. I 'instruct counsel to apply that vigilance in the formation of their questions to be put to witnesses,' Jenner wrote in his decision. 'Care must be taken not to pose questions that could tend to elicit evidence that remains covered by the privilege.' Read the full decision here.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Motorist charged year after woman's death, daughter seeks answers
The family of a woman struck and killed on the Harry Lazerenko Bridge last August continue to seek answers, despite police arresting and charging a motorist in connection with her death. 'What happened beforehand, before her getting hit?' said Britney Porter, whose mother, Doris Porter, died in the Aug. 10, 2024, collision. Police were sent to the bridge at about 1:45 a.m. that morning and found the 49-year-old grandmother critically injured. SUPPLIED / FREE PRESS FILES Doris Porter was struck and killed on the Harry Lazerenko Bridge on August 10, 2024. Investigators determined the woman was lying on the road when she was hit by a driver headed west. The motorist stayed at the scene and spoke with officers, police said. On Friday, just over one year after the incident, police announced they had charged a 28-year-old woman with careless driving causing death. She was arrested Monday and released on an appearance notice. Police did not name the woman and were unavailable to provide further information Friday. Porter said she knows little about what the police investigation uncovered. Footage obtained by police and viewed by Porter's sisters showed the moment Doris was struck by the vehicle, Porter said, but she still questions how her mother was lying on the ground in the first place. Some of Doris' belongings, including articles of clothing, were strewn on the roadway on the opposite end of the bridge from where she was found injured, Porter said. Porter said she has asked officials to provide the results of a toxicology report that determined if her mother was impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of her death. That request has been denied, she said. 'She never had a problem with walking, so I really just think something happened beforehand,' Porter said through tears. 'She needed help, she really needed help and I think her body just gave up on her.' Porter is meeting by phone with a representative from the Crown on Tuesday to go over the case. She hopes some of her questions are answered, she said. She continues to grieve the loss of her mother, whom she described as a 'loving person.' NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS FILES Britney Porter, a daughter of Doris Porter, yells 'Justice for my mom' and 'We want answers' at the Harry Lazarenko Bridge at a protest held after her mother was struck and killed on August 10, 2024. 'She cared and she was always there for everyone,' Porter said. 'She loved her grandkids a lot and that was one of her big things that were keeping her going in life. They made her so happy.' Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Doris, who had 13 grandchildren, was living with Porter when she died, she said. Protesters gathered on the bridge last August and held a vigil for Doris. They called for a full investigation into her death. Family members held a prayer and offered tobacco to the water before painting a red dress symbol with the words 'Justice for Doris' across both lanes of the bridge. 'It really meant a lot to us. Me personally, I didn't know how much support we actually had out there until that day when I saw everyone come together for my mom,' Porter said Friday. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
