WINNIPEG — A man convicted of sexual assault was sentenced to three years behind bars Thursday in a case that sparked national outrage.
A Manitoba judge spared Kenneth Rhodes jail time for the 2006 attack near Thompson and blamed the victim for dressing provocatively.
It was a story that sent shock waves across the country after 43-year-old Rhodes was given two years house arrest and called a “clumsy Don Juan” in his 2011 trial.
At the time, Judge Robert Dewar said “sex was in the air” because the victim was wearing a tube top, high heels and wanting to party.
The comments and light sentence sparked anger across the country and protests in Winnipeg. The Crown appealed the decision, and it was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which ordered a new trial.
Dewar later apologized and took gender-equity counselling. He was temporarily barred from hearing sexual assault cases.
Later that year, Rhodes was found guilty of sexual assault in his second trial, and on Thursday a different judge said house arrest was not appropriate in this case, instead sending him to jail for three years.
Rhodes had no prior criminal history but will now be put on the sexual assault registry for 20 years and is not to have any contact with the victim.
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