REGINA – A father who was sentenced to 15 months in jail for harbouring his young daughter in a case that spanned several countries will be spending more time in jail.
Alexander Levin was sentenced in January of this year after trying to keep the child from her mother.
Levin appealed the conviction and sentencing, while the Crown appealed for a longer sentence.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal sided with the Crown.
In a written decision released on Tuesday, the court said the trial judge imposed a sentence “that is disproportionate to the gravity of the offence and to Mr. Levin’s culpability in committing it.”
The court increased Levin’s sentence to two years less a day incarceration, less 108 spent on remand.
“Mr. Levin’s moral blameworthiness in the commission of the offence is substantial,” said the three member panel.
“He did not act out of a sense of the best interests of the child, however misplaced or misguided. To him, the child was a mere tool for him to use as he saw fit to achieve his ends.”
“It is apparent to us Mr. Levin still has no remorse for this offence and sees himself as the victim.”
Levin was charged after traveling to his native Ukraine for a vacation in July 2013 with the child and her Brazilian mother. He then took the child to the Philippines where he left her with strangers before returning to Saskatoon.
Comments