Child victim's loss of innocence takes precedence in sentencing for Craigslist abuse case

"If I could bring back her innocence, I would," Judge Anthony Leitch said of the child victim of sexual assault as he sentenced one of her abusers to eight and a half years in prison.

Leitch was sentencing Sonya Lucas from Waterloo, who pleaded guilty in June to sex abuse-related charges involving a then seven-year-old girl who was advertised on Craigslist as available for sex.

As the judge delivered those powerful words, Lucas looked sombre and grave, her hands interwoven in her lap. 

• 'Damaged' woman who sexually abused child advertised on Craigslist says she's 'worth saving'

• 'Scared and cowardly,' woman says she sexually abused child because she was told to

Because of time already spent in prison, Lucas's sentence is reduced to six years and five months.

Leitch recalled the severity of the crime and its lasting effects on the victim, saying the effects "will not be known for many years."

If I could bring back her innocence, I would.- Judge Tony Leitch

He said while Lucas was not a part of the multiple attacks directly, she did nothing to stop the victim's abuse.

Lucas's defence had previously argued any sentence had to take into account she is a "damaged individual," because of abuse she herself suffered, the Crown said that shouldn't be a factor in the punishment.

While Lucas's personal background of being sexually assaulted, abused by her mother, and her exposure to ongoing violence was brought forward by the defence, Leitch said Lucas's own struggles had less impact on the sentence and it should have made her acutely aware of the lifetime of pain she was putting on the victim.

Leitch found Lucas less likely to be rehabilitated because of her previous record. She has a prior conviction from 2004 and is a registered sex offender.

Leitch said while children who have been abused are prone to be abusers themselves, the focus should be on the harm done to the child and the well-being of the child must take precedence.

Lucas admitted in court she filmed the seven-year-old girl being sexually abused and said she performed sexual acts on the victim while being filmed because she was told to do so. She claimed she did not know she was walking into a situation where a minor would be abused and where one of the two men involved would ask her to film and perform sexual acts on the victim

In her statement last month, Lucas apologized to the victim and her own family. 

"I deeply regret not doing something to help her instead," said Lucas about the part she played. "I know I am not a monster and I believe I am worth saving."

Police said that the girl was being abused by her mother's boyfriend, who also made the girl available on the online advertising service, Craigslist.

Last November. Hamilton police laid dozens of charges linked to a child sexual exploitation ring that involved a seven-year-old girl being made available online for sexual abuse and being used for the creation of child pornography.

To date, five people have been charged in relation to this investigation and two have been sentenced.

Fair sentence, recalls lawyer

Sonya Lucas's lawyer, Hal Mattson, said the sentence handed to Lucas was a fair sentence, even if it was not what he was seeking.

"The difficulty was that he found my client to be less likely to rehabilitate herself and more responsible than one of the males. I don't agree with that," says Mattson.

Mattson believes that Lucas's ability to rehabilitate is very high and once she is in prison, she will have access to programming that will help her rehabilitate herself.

Sentence was "woefully inadequate"

Members of Guardians of the Children Canada call the sentence "woefully inadequate." The group provides support to families who are victims of child abuse and educates the community about child abuse. 

"It was heart wrenching to think that's all it is. It is a life sentence for the kid so how is it that [she] gets to walk away with six and a half years," says member Little Dean.

"A lot of us have been through this. We want to see justice. We don't want to see our kids hurting."