If more judges could hear the utter fear in a 911 call from victims of domestic violence, they would be thoroughly convicted about the impact of such crimes, said Justice Gethin Edward at a recent sentencing.
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“I will never forget the 911 call I heard,” the judge told Kyle Shane Sault, 53, as he sentenced him in Ontario Court in Brantford.
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“Rarely have I heard such screams and such fear in this court. There was no doubt the complainant was scared for her life.”
Originally charged with the attempted murder of the woman on March 24, 2022, Sault admitted to a series of offenses that included aggravated assault for breaking down a door and his protracted assault on his former partner with a knife.
Stabbing at the woman in what Edward called a “blind rage”, Sault connected with one of his thrusts into the woman’s breast.
“Life or death is a matter of inches when it comes to stab wounds,” said Edward.
At the time of the attack, Sault was on bail with orders not to contact the woman.
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He pleaded guilty to breach of release orders and threatening death or bodily harm.
In court, Sault also pleaded guilty to a series of offenses from a few months previous to the attack: two counts of having an unauthorized weapon, driving while prohibited and intimidation.
And, he pleaded guilty to having driven while impaired two weeks after his attack on the woman in April 2022.
“The most serious of the three sets of offenses is the aggravated assault that ended in the stabbing,” said assistant Crown attorney Derek Zuraw, who asked the judge to impose a six-year sentence.
“He went after her and punched her several times. She was ‘turtle-ing’ to try and protect herself.”
But Zuraw agreed that Sault had substantial family support and had expressed an unusual remorse in his apology to the victim, who declined to provide a victim statement or waited court.
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Defense lawyer Jaime Stephenson said Sault had been in jail for most of the pandemic’s significant COVID-19 pressures and asked for the equivalent of three years of time served plus two further years in prison.
Stephenson asked the judge to consider Sault’s rehabilitation prospects in light of his significant insight into his own behavior.
Edward said the difference between a five and six-year sentence was minimal and his decisions often hinged on the character of the offender.
“Is this an individual the court should see as salvageable? As someone capable of turning his life around?
“I see here someone I can help. Someone with the support of his family and the ability to overcome but that’s not to condone your conduct.”
The judge agreed on the five-year global sentence for Sault, meaning he’ll go to prison rather than jail.
Sault will provide DNA for the national offenders data-bank and be on a weapons ban for 10 years.
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