No bail for city woman accused of abducting her children, fleeing from police

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This article was published 10/08/2016 (3664 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg mother accused of kidnapping her two children will remain behind bars, for now.

Sandra Giesbrecht, 44, has been in custody since her June 22 arrest on two counts of abduction and one count of fleeing from police.

Provincial court Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe denied bail to Giesbrecht, who appeared in court via closed-circuit video Wednesday. The judge also reinforced a no-contact order that prevents Giesbrecht from communicating with her children or their father.

Because the Crown was opposed to Giesbrecht’s release, Crown attorney Alanna Littman had to prove it was necessary to detain Giesbrecht to ensure her appearance in court, to ensure the safety of the public or to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice.

Wiebe denied Giesbrecht’s bail on all three grounds. Outside the courtroom, a group of about 10 of Giesbrecht’s supporters, who gathered to hear the decision, decried it as unfair.

Evidence and details of the judge’s reasoning presented during the bail hearing can’t be published under a court-imposed publication ban that’s designed to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial.

Defence lawyer Mike Cook had argued in favour of Giesbrecht’s release on bail.

Winnipeg police arrested Giesbrecht on a Canada-wide warrant following a short pursuit with officers after her nine-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter had been missing for five days. Their father had been granted full custody of the children after a lengthy custody dispute, and Giesbrecht was ordered to have no unauthorized contact with them. At the time of her arrest, police said they found evidence to suggest Giesbrecht had been wearing a disguise — a wig was found on the floor of the Ford Expedition SUV Giesbrecht was driving.

Queen’s Bench Justice Cathy Everett awarded full custody of the children to their father, lawyer Jacob Giesbrecht, April 8 after a four-week trial. Sandra Giesbrecht was only allowed to have supervised visitations once a week after the judge found her to be an emotionally unstable manipulator.

She was also ordered to pay monthly child support.

Child and Family Services seized the children in January because of concerns they were being “emotionally and psychologically abused” by their mother. There had been two previous criminal complaints in 2014 and 2015 made against the father for alleged sexual abuse of his daughter. A lengthy investigation by police and CFS found there was no merit to the complaints and deemed they were the mother’s attempts to manipulate custody.

Giesbrecht has indicated she plans to appeal Everett’s decision.