Maryk to be sentenced July 7 for kidnapping his kids

WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg mom who didn’t see her kids for four years after they were abducted by their father says she is still terrified of him and the further damage he could cause their family.

Emily Cablek said in a Winnipeg courtroom she’s lived with daily anxiety attacks that make it difficult to work and have added great financial stress to her life.

“Things aren’t the way I had hoped they would be … which has made me very depressed,” Cablek said in a taped victim impact statement. “There is the anger … Not seeing my kids for four years. I was terrified when I first saw them. I didn’t know if they would recognize me or be mad at me.”

Kevin Maryk has pleaded guilty to abducting his children, Dominic and Abby Maryk. The victim impact statement is part of his sentencing hearing Monday.

Dominic was seven and Abby was five when they were taken during a court-approved visit with their father in 2008. A court had awarded their mother full custody of the children. The kids lived in Mexico under different names until police finally arrested Maryk in 2012.

During the hearing Maryk, dressed in a grey sweater and orange prison jumpsuit, occasionally smirked while listening to the Crown’s submission seeking a five-year sentence.

The defence is asking for two years with credit for timed served, which would see Maryk released immediately.

“Mr. Maryk had a huge concern for their safety,” said his lawyer, Todd Bourcie, who argued his client took his kids because he was worried about drug use in Cablek’s home. “He did what he thought was best and he’s sorry for what happened and he knows he should not have done this.”

While his client would like to return to Mexico, Maryk has no plans to bring his kids there until they’re of age, the lawyer said.

Maryk will be sentenced July 7.

Dominic is an anxious kid who is afraid of the the dark and terrified of knocks at the door because he doesn’t know who might be visiting, Cablek said. Abby has adjusted a little better but a psychologist has told Cablek that’s because the girl has partially blocked the abduction, she said.

“They miss their dad, of course, and they also don’t understand why he did what he did.”

They were not put in school during their four years in Mexico. They are both back in the classroom now but Dominic hates it because he’s still so far behind, his mom said. Cablek said she’s had to reteach them how to eat healthy food, that both still don’t drink water, and disciplining them is difficult because she had so many years without them around.

“There are still house rules and I am trying to get them to be responsible and respectful and caring but punishing them is a hard thing to do.”

The court also heard Dominic and Abby still speak of life in Mexico, with knowledge of drugs, gangs and hookers.

As part of its case, the Crown entered into evidence two letters written by Maryk while in prison awaiting sentencing.

In one he demands a family member keep tabs on Cablek, even suggesting her house be watched.

He also indicated the plan was to head back to Mexico as soon as he’s out of prison.

“I can’t live here anymore,” wrote Maryk. “I came back for my D and A, then we are gone.”

TIMELINE: From abduction to justice, the story of the Maryk children