Sarnia man facing 3-6 years for sexually assaulting woman at house party

A Sarnia man found guilty of sexually assaulting and forcibly confining a woman during a Lambton County house party is facing between three and six years in prison.

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Tyler Shiffer, 25, was found guilty of both charges Sept. 1 by Superior Court Justice Russell Raikes following a six-day trial earlier this year. During a sentencing hearing Monday in a Sarnia courtroom, defense lawyer Sarah Donohue said the range, based on similar cases, is three to five years.

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She argued her client should get the low end of that range.

“I would describe this offense as being extremely out of character for Mr. Shiffer,” Donohue said, adding he has excellent prospects of rehabilitation.

Assistant Crown attorney Sarah Carmody countered with between four and six years for the sexual assault conviction.

“A significant penitentiary sentence is warranted,” she said.

Carmody also asked for two years for the forcible confinement conviction, but with both sentences running at the same time.

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The lawyers disagreed whether one of the two convictions should be stayed under the Kienapple principle, which prevents a person from being convicted of two crimes for the same act. Donohue argued the forcible confinement conviction should be stayed while Carmody said they were two separate acts.

Raikes will return in about two months with his decision on the Kienapple argument and with the final sentence for Shiffer. Before the case was adjourned, Shiffer, who Donohue said maintained his innocence, was given a chance Monday to address the court.

“I believe Ms. Donohue has spoken on my behalf,” Shiffer said while standing next to his lawyer wearing a gray suit.

The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, did not file a victim-impact statement, but information on how the attack has affected her was included in a pre-sentence report written about Shiffer. It noted she moved from her home and limits social interactions due to fear she deals with.

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“The sexual assault has significantly impacted her and her family in a negative way,” Carmody said.

However, Donohue called the rest of the report about her client very positive.

The trial was held during the last week of March and on a couple more days in April. At the time, the court heard Shiffer spent most of the get-together smoking marijuana in the garage with a friend while the woman was mostly in the house with a group of co-workers.

At one point Shiffer, who had been drinking, tried to leave, but his hosts didn’t want him to drink and drive so he stayed the night. Several other guests did, too, and many of them went to the basement to sleep as the party died down about 2 am or 3 am Shiffer stayed in the living room area, which is where the incident took place.

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Shiffer spoke he woke up to the woman’s hand on him and he accepted what he called an invitation to a pretty naughty interaction. He also testified to various acts of foreplay, mostly one-sided, on the couch and the floor. Though they didn’t speak, he was under the impression she was enjoying it.

He did recall her saying “no” on at least two occasions, but the first time he took it as something he was doing being off limits and activity stopped before resuming later. He denied they ever had sex.

The woman recalled the interaction differently. Though she admitted to having a spotty memory as she was very intoxicated that night and she also wanted to forget what happened, she said she awoke to Shiffer pulling her hair as she slept on the couch. Confused about who was doing this in the dark, she eventually figured out it was Shiffer and repeatedly told him “no” and to “please stop.”

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As things moved from the couch to the floor, she tried to wriggle away and again told him to stop. Things did stop after a person she believed to be a friend from the party – several of whom also testified – headed downstairs and went to bed.

The woman told her husband the next morning what happened and found blood in her underwear and abrasions on her back. She later gave a statement to police and was assessed by a nurse at hospital.

Though there were frailties in her testimony, Raikes said he found her evidence credible and reliable as it relates to what happened in the living room after everyone went to bed. It was corroborated by evidence heard from another partygoer, who walked by the area during the commotion.

The judge also said he didn’t believe Shiffer’s evidence as to how the sexual touching began, that it was consensual, that she was enjoying it, or that he respected boundaries she set. In the end, he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt the Crown proved the elements of both offenses.

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@ObserverTerry

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