Man’s bid to keep abuse secret fails

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This article was published 23/02/2024 (636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg judge is shining a light on domestic violence after ruling on a “very concerning” case in which the abuser attempted to keep the assault a secret.

In a written decision issued earlier this month, Provincial court Judge Cynthia Devine said Glen Toews, a 63-year-old retired Canadian National Railway train conductor, has “no insight” and “no empathy” about the assault, which he has apparently hidden from his family, friends and new girlfriend.

“This is not an extremely private matter. That minimizes the crime. It is a crime codified in the Criminal Code of Canada. It was publicly adjudicated in a public court to which the public has access and the decisions of the court are public.”

The ruling was issued days before domestic abuse again made headlines amid the slayings nearly two weeks ago of a 30-year-old Carman mother, her three children and a teenage cousin, allegedly committed by the woman’s common-law husband.

Devine sentenced Toews, who assaulted his estranged wife so badly in June 2021 she lost a tooth and then refused to take responsibility for what he did, to a year behind bars.

Devine found Toews guilty of assault causing bodily harm after a trial last year.

Manitoba had the second-highest rate of intimate partner violence across the country, at a rate of 633 per 100,000 people in 2022, Statistics Canada numbers show.

Devine said in her decision that such violence has a sordid history.

“The dark history of wife abuse has been brought to light over the past 60 years, with the resurgence of the modern women’s movement in Canada, the shelter movement and changes in the law, recognizing the ‘everywhere’ of domestic violence against women. It was a secret for a long, long time,” the judge wrote.

”Unfortunately, this offender wants to keep it a secret.”

Toews’ estranged partner has moved away from Winnipeg to be closer to family over fears he would “come back and finish the job,” Devine said.

The victim suffered a broken nose, black eyes, swelling and bruising and cuts to her lip and other parts of her face after Toews pushed her against a garage door and slammed her face into a wall, Devine wrote. She later lost a tooth and has suffered lasting pain.

Toews and the victim met in 2013, married in 2016 and then separated in early 2020. They tried to mend the relationship, but lived apart in different residences, Devine said.

One night in June 2021, the judge said, Toews went to the woman’s condo, where she reluctantly discussed their relationship, asking him to buy into the property if they were going to live together.

When she insisted he make a financial contribution, he “exploded and became enraged,” Devine said.

The victim left the home for close to an hour, and when she returned, was surprised to find her cupboards upended and Toews in the garage, putting items into his truck.

She was upset, she told the judge, and confronted him, poking him in the chest. He took his phone out to record her and when she knocked it from his hand, he attacked her.

The victim is a petite woman, Devine noted.

“She weighed about one hundred pounds less than the offender at the time of the offence and is about a foot shorter than him. Toews is six feet, three inches tall and weighed about 215 pounds at the time,” wrote Devine, calling the victim’s injuries significant.

He refused to call for an ambulance and left; the victim tried to drive to the hospital herself but turned back and called for police, who arrested Toews near his home.

Toews told officers that the victim had attacked him, saying his face was scratched and his clothes ripped. Police found no evidence of either.

Toews was extremely unco-operative after he was found guilty.

He refused to allow a probation officer to interview any of his family members, friends and new partner for a pre-sentence report because he sees it as a “delicate and personal” and “extremely private” matter and does not want to trouble them or expose his sister and current intimate partner to “trauma,” said Devine.

“This demonstrates no understanding of the nature of the offence he has committed, no insight, no empathy and bodes very poorly for any rehabilitation — and it contributes to the problem of intimate partner violence,” the judge wrote.

Crown prosecutor Julia Negrea sought a jail sentence of 18 months followed by 18 months of supervised probation, while defence lawyer Chad Schaan asked for a 90-day sentence to be served intermittently, or a conditional sentence order to be served in the community.

Devine disagreed with both suggestions and sentenced Toews to 12 months of jail and probation. He’s banned from contacting or going near his victim.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Glen Toews sentencing decision