WARNING: This article may concern those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

A man who sexually assaulted a woman he stopped on the side of a road in northern Manitoba last year and assaulted a teenage girl years earlier, in what a prosecutor said described as “serious” offenses, was sentenced to three years in prison, less time, he has already served.

As a result, there was just over a year remaining on Armand Thrones’ sentence in August, after he pleaded guilty to both counts, relating to two separate crimes committed in 2023 and 2019. The identities of the two victims is protected by publication. to forbid.

The 2023 sexual assault involved a 24-year-old woman whom Thrones, then 34, stopped on the highway near The Pas on his way to a cabin, where he sexually assaulted her.

“From the Crown’s point of view, Your Honour, (Thrones is) far from being a good Samaritan. In fact, he admits to his behavior, although his insight may not be very good,” said the Crown prosecutor Guillaume Dragon during sentencing proceedings in July, calling Thrones’ suggestion that the woman had consented “is probably not consistent with the facts of this case”.

The court heard the woman got out of a vehicle following an argument with her mother, but realized she did not have cell service to call her and return.

The woman reluctantly decided to trust Thrones when he offered to take her, as she felt she didn’t have much choice, but “in the end, she was wrong about his intentions” , Dragon said.

The woman said she consumed alcohol and cocaine with Thrones in the cabin, where she said she then woke up at one point with Thrones on top of her.

She later told police “she was terrified, she was freezing and she thought, given the circumstances, that following Mr. Thrones would be the safest option for her,” the prosecutor said .

The woman was then able to call for help using Thrones’ phone.

The court also heard a victim impact statement from the woman’s father, who said his daughter was now suffering from nightmares and anxiety.

Court records show other charges initially filed, including false imprisonment, uttering threats and assault by choking, choking or strangulation, were stayed.

The other incident Thrones pleaded guilty to occurred in 2019, when a teenage girl who was babysitting at his house while Thrones and his partner were away said she was sleeping in the basement when the couple returned home and woke up to Thrones touching his thigh.

“It appears he said, ‘I just wanted to see how you were feeling,'” Dragon said, adding that the girl, who has since died, told Thrones to stop before going upstairs and later stated that she thought Thrones had been drinking.

Court records show Thrones was initially charged with sexual interference, but his decision was put on hold when he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault.

Provincial Court Judge Lori Hunter agreed with a joint sentencing recommendation submitted by the Crown and defense, giving Thrones three years in prison for the 2023 sexual assault. That sentence was reduced by the increased credit he received for time already spent in custody.

Thrones was also sentenced to 90 days for the 2019 assault, which is being served concurrently with the three-year sentence.

Victim’s mother calls sentence ‘disgusting’

Thrones’ then-teenage mother was convicted of assault, which she said led to her accidental death earlier this year by choking on medication, calling Thrones’ sentence a “slap on the wrist and unfair to women.”

“It was disgusting,” the mother said in an interview. “It sends the message that women are not protected, but criminals are.”

The mother of the woman Thrones sexually assaulted after picking her up on the highway said in text messages to CBC News that her sentence was “not justice at all” and that her daughter would “live in fear for the rest of his life.”

Both mothers said they were worried about what Thrones, who the court found poses a higher-than-average risk of recidivism, might do once he is released.

CBC News is not naming either woman due to a ban on publishing the identities of their daughters.

A provincial spokesperson said in an email that Crown prosecutors often use plea negotiations to hold offenders accountable, and that the joint recommendation for Thrones “reflects the challenge the Crown faces in gathering testimonial evidence necessary to secure a conviction if the case proceeds to trial.”

Defense attorney Brian Pfefferle said in an email that although Thrones’ sentence if he had been convicted after a trial “could have been two or three times as harsh,” his guilty plea was ” highly attenuating” and allowed a “vulnerable witness” to avoid testifying. .

The court heard Thrones suffered from addiction and believed these issues were to blame for both incidents.

“I know I was drinking and I wasn’t exactly a model citizen, but I never, ever, ever intended for anyone to be hurt like that,” said Thrones, who the court heard lost his job after being charged. and no longer has contact with his daughters.

Thrones was also banned from possessing weapons for 10 years, ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years and given two years of supervised probation after his sentence was completed.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, support is available through crisis lines and local support services through Canadian Association to End Violence Database. ​​If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.