A half indigenous man was given a reduced prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman — thanks to an Alberta judge.Reported by the National Post, Aaron Moore Minshull, was found by an Edmonton jury to be guilty of "major sexual assault", but due to his indigenous background, they believed he deserved a reduced sentence.According to a Gladue report, Minshull's mother is indigenous, and his father is not, and his mother's grandparents had attended residential schools, while he had not been exposed to indigenous culture."In deciding on this sentence, I have taken into account the mitigating factors regarding Mr. Moore (Minshull’s) rehabilitation efforts, his indigenous heritage, and his mental health struggles, along with the collateral consequences that will be visited on him and his new family by a lengthy prison sentence,” Justice Christopher Simard wrote about the recent decision..The Gladue report also stated, "There were some traumatic events during (Moore Minshull’s) childhood and young adulthood.""A younger sister was given up for adoption because of the family’s financial struggles.""His parents separated at least once. Another sister ran away, and she was pregnant when she returned to the family home." “She was later placed in foster care after complaining about physical abuse in the family.".Under the Gladue principles, indigenous people get exceptions when judging their crimes. They were set by the Supreme Court of Canada over a quarter of a century ago to influence judges' decisions when sentencing indigenous people and their "unique circumstances" to acknowledge the over-representative of indigenous people in Canada's prisons. Minshull was 21 years old when his cousin committed suicide, said the Gladue report.“There were also positive experiences in Mr. Moore Minshull’s youth. His family, particularly on his father’s side, were very social and he has good memories of large family gatherings,” stated the report.Minshull finished “high school and attended university on a football scholarship."."Football was his passion, but his football career was ended prematurely through injury. It appears that he did not complete a university degree but hopes to earn a business degree in the future.”Prior to his sentence, Minshull worked as a security guard and delivery truck driver, making his total income around $40,000.Minshull also had a substance history, "that he uses marijuana daily.""He appears to also use alcohol somewhat frequently, as he told the author of the report that he last had an alcoholic drink the day of their meeting.""He also uses cocaine, but apparently less frequently. He has attended a substance abuse rehabilitation program, but it is not clear whether he did that voluntarily or as a result of an intervention by his sisters.""He says that he was sober for one year after completing this program, but the goal of the program was not to achieve complete sobriety.""He thinks that his rehabilitation was successful and his relationship with drugs and alcohol is now more healthy and that he controls his alcohol use," stated the Gladue report..Despite details of Minshull's background — the woman Minshull raped experienced extreme psychological impact after the fact.The woman “told him repeatedly that she did not want to engage in sexual contact. He persisted regardless," stated the judge."She tried to evade and escape him. He used his much greater size and strength to physically and forcefully overcome her resistance."“This was a violent and forceful sexual assault. This was not sexual touching in the context of confusion or mixed signals about consent.”.Minshull used “his physical strength to overpower her attempts to resist, and impose his will on her forcefully to satisfy himself sexually.""He treated her as an object for his gratification. This was a gross and serious violation of (her) physical, sexual and emotional integrity,” said the judge.Minshull and his victim knew each other and were drinking together..The victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, was "devastated" by sexual assault.“She describes herself before the assault as having been an independent, adventurous and confident person," stated the judge.."She now feels broken and describes having lost all her self-worth, her excitement and passion for life, her ability to feel happy or excited, and her ability to trust others. She now experiences anxiety, nightmares, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder."Despite the victim's suffering Judge Simard still reduced Minshull's sentence.“Without those mitigating factors, the fit and appropriate sentence would be significantly longer than three years," stated Simard."However, a sentence below three years would simply not be proportionate to the gravity of this major sexual assault, and Mr. Moore Minshull’s very high degree of moral blameworthiness.”.Similar cases have warranted three-and-a-half to four years in prison, Simard said in his decision in late January.“Considering the circumstances, the gravity of this offence is very high. Mr. Moore Minshull’s degree of responsibility is also very high,” stated Simard.However, Simard stated, that he must consider Minshull's "mitigating factors" like his rehabilitation efforts, his mental health struggles, and the collateral consequences his prison sentence will have on his family.According to the report, Minshull is currently in a "committed long-term relationship" and has one child of his own.
