A 50-year-old Nova Scotia man who sexually assaulted an intellectually challenged young woman last year will be getting out of jail.
Anthony Leo Gough was the executive director of the Social Opportunities and Rec Society, a centre in Lower Sackville, N.S. that provided programs for young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. The society is no longer in operation.
Gough was sentenced in September of 2015 to five years in prison after he sexually assaulted a teenage girl who was attending a March break camp.
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This week, the Parole Board of Canada agreed to release him on day parole. The decision to release Gough to a halfway house is being met with harsh criticism from the family of his victim.
“He betrayed her trust. She trusted him. I trusted him,” the victim’s mother told Global News Thursday.
Global News is not identifying the woman in order to protect the identity of her daughter, which is protected under a court-imposed publication ban.
Her mother says the girl, who is now 18 but has the mental age of a six or seven-year-old, was left traumatized following the assault.
“He’s getting off with a slap on the wrist. We were just starting to get our lives back together,” she said.
The Parole Board describes Gough as a low risk to re-offend and says he has been able to reconnect with his faith.
‘I just feel sick to my stomach’
The decision to release Gough is not sitting well with the victim and her family, who say they were not notified that a parole hearing was taking place and claim that they found out Gough was being released on Facebook.
“It’s like getting kicked in the gut again,” said the victim’s mother.”I just feel sick to my stomach.”
As part of his release, Gough cannot be in the presence of any female children under the age of 16 unless he is accompanied by an adult who is aware of his criminal history. He is also to have no direct or indirect contact with his victim and her family.
Brenda Hardiman advocates for people with disabilities and runs the group Advocating Parents of Nova Scotia. She says she’s shocked that someone who sexually assaulted a teenager with an intellectual disability is allowed an early parole release.
“Particularly, when there’s a person that has an intellectual disability or is a member of society that is more vulnerable, it just concerns us that this is the direction that things are going on,” she said.
“It’s very, very disturbing for the family and for the disability community at large.”
The victim’s family and their supporters are looking for answers.
They want Justice Minister Diana Whalen to review the decision.
The minister would not comment on this particular case Thursday, but says every level of the justice system operates in their own independent way.
“I really can’t defend or wade into their decisions,” Whalen said. “I take all crime very seriously.”
“I, as justice minister can’t influence the prosecutors, the Parole Board, the police and the judges for example, so as sentences are made I have no say in that. And the Parole Board does their work based on factors that are unknown to me,” she added.
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