Sudbury man spared jail in ‘shocking’ domestic abuse case

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A Sudbury man with a history of violence may have avoided prison because the woman he attacked did not cooperate with prosecutors and never wanted him to be charged in the first place.

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Instead, Ontario Court Judge Graham Jenner gave Robert Kennedy a suspended sentence.

“This is a pretty high level of violence,” Judge Jenne said. “It is clear that alcohol was a factor in the attack in November and I am sure that without this factor everything would have been different.

“I think it’s important to understand this. Intimate partner violence is epidemic in this society and a serious concern. “The facts heard today are quite shocking and quite horrifying.”

However, Jenner said the Crown would face significant legal issues if the case went to trial due to the victim’s lack of cooperation.

“If there were no significant, triable issues for the Crown and the Crown had cooperated in the prosecution of the charges…perhaps if he had been found guilty after trial, there would have been a natural prison sentence,” the judge said.

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Facing seven charges, Kennedy, 36, pleaded guilty to four charges, including:

– Mischief and assault (assault causing original bodily harm) under $5,000 for the attack on his apartment on November 21, 2023; And

Violation of undertaking to contact his wife on March 20 and March 21.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Jenner was granted an 18-month probation order that included a requirement that Kennedy not have any contact with his wife unless he had written, revocable consent.

He also cannot own a gun and must attend domestic violence and substance abuse programs.

Crown and defense lawyer Denis Michel recommended the sentences.

“I haven’t had a drink since the (November) incident,” Kennedy told Judge Jenner moments before he was sentenced.

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The court heard through an agreed statement of facts that as of Nov. 21 last year, the woman and Kennedy were in an on-and-off relationship when he traveled to Montreal to pick up Kennedy.

When he arrived in Montreal he found Kennedy uncooperative and drunk. During the return trip, Kennedy threw a carton of cigarettes at him, hitting him in the face.

When the couple returned to Kennedy’s apartment in New Sudbury, he became upset and threw out the woman’s cell phone and shoes, causing an estimated $1,200 in damage to the phone.

Kennedy then kicked and kneed the woman in the back, causing vaginal bleeding, and then struck the woman in the chin.

The attack stopped after the woman bit Kennedy on the leg and fled the apartment.

When Greater Sudbury Police officers and paramedics arrived on scene, they found the woman in a nearby apartment. Another tenant was holding a towel over the victim’s head and blood was dripping from his right cheek.

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The woman was taken to Northern Health Sciences for treatment.

Kennedy was charged and released on an undertaking that included the condition that he stay away from the woman.

Acting on a tip-off on March 5, police officers visited Kennedy’s home and found the woman inside. Kennedy, who appeared drunk, was yelling at the woman, telling her to leave and live with her mother.

The woman told officers she had been spending her nights at Kennedy’s apartment since January.

Text messages reviewed by officers showed Kennedy wanted the woman to return to live with him and that he missed her.

Later on March 20, Kennedy contacted the woman to visit. When Kennedy arrived, he was drunk and angry.

The next day Kennedy indirectly contacted the woman and told her to stop harassing one of her children with whom he had contact.

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“Leave me and my family alone,” the message read.

The court heard the woman did not make a victim impact statement to the Crown and did not want Kennedy to ever be charged.

While handing down his sentence, Michel said Kennedy, who worked as a diamond driller in the north, had quit drinking.

“These events were the result of problems he had with alcohol,” the lawyer said.

Kennedy and the woman, who each had children from different relationships, needed each other, Michel said.

“This is a family unit that needs to be reunited,” he said. “The family unit is interconnected.”

Michel said the woman wanted to get back together with Kennedy and work things out.

“He is a good and caring father,” the lawyer said. “He needs it in his family.”

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Michel added that Kennedy had donated to the local Canadian Mental Health Association branch before coming to court, and that his client was the one who called police about the attack on the apartment building on Nov. 21.

Assistant Crown attorney Sandra Town said it was her understanding that, based on interviews with the woman, the Crown did not want any contact with Kennedy.

Kennedy’s record includes an assault conviction in 2008, a 2022 assault conviction on a police officer and assault convictions involving three other women, Town said. As a result, he said, it was important for Kennedy to receive counseling on issues such as domestic violence and anger management.

“This is a sentence in which rehabilitation is a very important sentencing principle,” he concluded.

As a result of the four charges, the Crown dropped the other charges Kennedy was facing.

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X: @HaroldCarmichae

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