A 46-year-old man who tried to stab his son with a fork and threatened to cut the child's mother's throat will be spending time in jail after he was sentenced in provincial court Monday in Charlottetown.
The man, who The Guardian has chosen not to name to protect the victims' identities, appeared before Judge Nancy Orr where he pleaded guilty to several charges, including assault with a weapon and uttering threats.
During Monday's proceedings, Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald told the court the man and the boy's mother had two children together and had been in a relationship off and on for 18 years.
On Aug. 31, the man threatened to cut the woman's throat after the couple had an argument over him smoking a cigarette.
MacDonald said there were several incidents of violence and threats in the relationship over the years but it was the first time she feared for her safety.
On Oct. 5, a different woman reported two death threats the man made toward the boys' mother through text messages.
In one of those texts the man said he was going to try to lure the boys' mother away from her work by pretending to be nice.
The threat said he would then take her to a secluded area and choke her to death.
"I think I will kill her real soon," he said in one message.
MacDonald also told the court about an Aug. 13 incident during which the man tried to stab his 12-year-old son with a fork because the boy interrupted a conversation between the parents.
The boy pulled his arm away in time and the fork stuck in the table.
He then left the house and moved in with his grandparents.
In another incident, for which the man wasn't charged but the details were read into the record, he threw the couple's other son into his bedroom where he hit the bed and broke his arm.
Along with the charges for uttering threats and assault, the man also breached an order not to contact the woman when he sent her non-threatening text messages.
He also failed to appear in court on two occasions in November and was arrested after warrants were issued.
In recommending a sentence, MacDonald said the charges were serious with the man abusing his sons and making multiple threats to people by multiple means.
Deterrence and denunciation were important in this case, MacDonald said, and he recommended 60 days in jail along with a period of probation.
Defence attorney Randy MacDonald told the court the man, who has seven children with different women, acted hastily out of frustration when he tried to stab his son.
He also said the man was horsing around with the other boy when the child hit the bed and broke his arm.
The man spent 28 days in custody prior to his sentencing and had attended counseling during that time, Randy MacDonald said.
Before handing down a sentence, Orr said if the man wants a relationship with his sons he needs to make significant changes.
She also said the nature of the threats is at the upper end of the scale.
"It's a matter of great concern," she said.
Orr sentenced the man to 60 days in jail, minus credit for the time he was in custody, which left him with 32 days to serve.
The man will also be on probation for two years and Orr included the woman and their sons in a no-contact order as one of the conditions in the probation.
Orr ordered the man to write an apology letter to the victims and he will have to provide a DNA sample for the national databank.
Are you for real you think she should go easy on drunk drivers on PEI, i hear they make the news a lot buddy maybe that's why she's so hard on them.