Eight years for Winnipeg man who abused step-daughter

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This article was published 14/11/2014 (4009 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing his step-daughter on a nearly daily basis for almost a decade.

Cyril Thordarson, 46, pleaded guilty to sexual interference for crimes that started in early 1991 and didn’t end until late 1999. The victim was just seven when the attacks began. She was regularly forced to watch explicit pornography, was often threatened with death and even weapons such as a knife and repeatedly raped, court was told.

“There are horrendous aggravating factors,” Queen’s Bench Justice Brenda Keyser said Friday in handing down her decision. “Anything less would not do justice to the magnitude of the harm inflicted on a child.”

The Crown was seeking a 10-year sentence, the maximum allowed under the Criminal Code for this particular charge. The victim previously told court how her life has been emotionally shattered by the abuse, which could have been stopped much earlier if not for the failings of several people and agencies.

Crown attorney Debbie Buors said the victim’s mother knew what was happening to her daughter, but turned a blind eye and even told her to remain silent. As well, the girl was treated for chlamydia and the human papilloma virus at the age of 11, but her doctor didn’t contact police or Child and Family Services officials.

At the age of 14, the girl told a school counsellor what Thordarson had done to her, and he in turn contacted CFS. Buors said no further action was taken by officials following a meeting with the family in which Thordarson admitted to the abuse. He was told to take family counselling, but police were never brought in.

Keyser said Friday it’s clear Thodarson had a “physical reign of terror against everyone in the household.”

Thordarson told court officials he blames racism he suffered as a child for “most of his failures in life” including his criminal behaviour, said Keyser. The judge said it’s clear he suffered a less-than-perfect upbringing but that’s hardly an excuse for the damage he caused. She also expressed concern about how remorseful he truly is.

“His actions belie his words,” said Keyser.

Thordarson was given credit for seven months of time already spent in custody, leaving him with 89 months left to serve on his sentence. He will also be placed on the national sex offender registry and is banned from having any future contact with the now 31-year-old victim.

www.mikeoncrime.com