WARNING: This article contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
An Edmonton man has received a fifteen-and-a-half-year sentence for kidnapping, confining and sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in March 2020.
Wade Stene learned his fate Wednesday afternoon in an Edmonton courtroom. Stene pleaded guilty in February to kidnapping, confining and sexually assaulting the girl, as well as unlawfully inviting a person under 16 to touch his body.
“This crime was planned, predatory and brazen,” Justice Susan Richardson said in court Wednesday.
Richardson went on to say that beyond his guilty plea, Stene has not shown that he is truly remorseful.
“Complete lack of self-awareness. Of course he intended this to happen. He did this,” she said.
Richardson explained that Parliament has recently said there is a need to have lengthier sentences when children are victims of sexual violence.
The girl’s family issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying the past two years have been impossibly hard. They thanked members of the Edmonton Police Service who arrested Stene, as well as the Stollery Children’s Hospital and Zebra Child Protection Centre for their gentle care and support.
“To the Crown prosecutors who have handled this case with care and attention, who have walked us through every step and helped us navigate through the most difficult parts of these proceedings; our sincerest thanks,” the statement read.
“It was difficult to hear the end result of the sentence that was handed down. No sentence would have satisfied us, no amount of time will fully heal the harm that has been inflicted. No judgement will fully protect the community that we live in.
“We pray for healing. For healing within our community that has shown us solidarity, support and love. That has carried us through these difficult times. We pray for healing within our family of the grief and guilt and pain. And we pray for strength for our daughter and continued healing.”
According to an agreed statement of facts read in court earlier this year, the child was walking in an alley in the area of 144 Street and 110 Avenue when Stene, wearing a white face mask, drove up beside her in his Jeep and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into the vehicle. Once inside, he bound her arms and legs with duct tape and covered her mouth. He drove her to a secluded area and sexually assaulted her, court heard.
After the assault, the agreed statement of facts said he drove the victim back to her neighbourhood and dropped her off where she was eventually found by her father.
The child was so frightened, court heard, she thought the stranger was going to eat her and kill her.
The girl’s family addressed the court on Monday, sharing their grief and trauma.
Faced with substantial evidence against him, Stene, in his eventual confession to police, called his own acts “disgusting” and “vile.”
The 39-year-old Stene addressed the court on Tuesday, apologizing several times.
The Crown had sought a 20-year sentence while the defence was asking for 10 years.
Defence lawyer Mark Jordan called the decision thorough and comprehensive.
“I respect her decision,” he said. “She heard the position of the defence, she heard the position of the Crown and she came to the decision she did.
“(Stene) has respect for the justice system and he reiterated that when I spoke to him.
“It’s fair to say he accepts the sentence that Justice Richardson imposed.”
Stene will receive credit for 1,313 days already served.
With files from Emily Mertz and Sarah Ryan, Global News.