Friends, family and supporters have created a memorial in honour of Reese Stanzel. Bob Perreault photo
An emotional sentencing hearing has ended with a youth offender receiving years in secure custody in the Reese Stanzel case.
Justice Abrams opened the hearing by stressing the seriousness of the offence and explaining the legal limits he faced in departing from the joint sentence proposed by the Crown and defence.
Abrams described the grief suffered by Stanzel’s parents and friends as staggering and expressed reservations about the offender’s prospects for rehabilitation.
The accused addressed Reese’s parents directly and apologized during the hearing, prompting an emotional reaction from Reese’s mother.
The offender was sentenced to six years in secure custody, with one year deducted for time already served, followed by four years of community supervision.
Abrams’ voice broke with emotion while addressing Reese’s family. He said the case had weighed more heavily on him than any other during his 16 years on the bench.
Outside court, Reese’s mother expressed anger with the sentence and the way the case was prosecuted.
She said she believes the Crown should have pushed harder to have the accused tried and sentenced as an adult.
