Man sentenced to 15.5 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting Edmonton girl
GRAPHIC WARNING: This article contains details readers may find disturbing.
Wade Stene, who admitted to kidnapping and sexually assaulting an eight-year-old Edmonton girl, was sentenced to 15.5 years behind bars Wednesday afternoon.
Justice Susan Richardson handed down the sentence after a two-day sentencing hearing.
Stene's sentence has around 12 years left after the judge gave him a credit of 1,313 days for time served.
Stene pleaded guilty earlier this year to pulling the young girl inside his vehicle and sexually assaulting her before dropping her back off in March 2020.
The girl cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting her identity.
Stene’s lawyer, Mark Jordan, had asked for a 10-year prison sentence, while Crown prosecutors, Keith Nicholls and Ioana Corabian, asked the judge for a 20-year sentence.
Jordan argued his sentencing recommendation was fair because Stene had a troubled past, no previous criminal record and was subject to emotional trauma from protests outside his home while he was released on bail in the victim’s neighbourhood in June 2020.
The Crown urged the judge to not consider those factors, in part because Stene’s actions were so severe that his release significantly impacted the community and the outrage that led to protests outside his home were “justified and predictable.”
The Crown also argued that the attack on the child was premeditated, noting Stene essentially had a “rape kit” on hand, pointing out how he was wearing a mask, had duct tape with him and had his seat down and covered with a blanket.
On Wednesday, the judge said Stene's crime was "planned, predatory and brazen."
"Of course he intended this to happen. He did this," Justice Richardson said.
"His sexual assault only stopped after his sexual gratification was complete."
In a statement to CTV News, the victim's family said, in part:
"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."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.