CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A P.E.I. man who broke his hand during an assault on another inmate while the two were in jail was sentenced recently to 60 days in jail.
Chad Charles Boshuis, 29, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown where he pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.
Crown attorney John Diamond told the court the RCMP responded to a complaint on Jan. 7 about a fight in the jail’s gym area.
The court heard that Boshuis punched the victim in the head and pushed him up against a wall before hitting him again several times.
Diamond said Boshuis continued the assault when the victim was on the ground and kicked him several times. Diamond also said Boshuis assaulted the victim while another altercation was taking place in the gym.
The victim went to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment, but Diamond said he declined to let the Crown or police get information about his injuries, although the attack did injure his eye.
Defence lawyer Joel Wonnacott said Boshuis fractured three bones and broke another in his hand during the assault.
Wonnacott told the court Boshuis took responsibility for his actions and was looking to turn things around.
Boshuis recognized it was not the type of behaviour he wants to continue to engage in, Wonnacott said.
In sentencing Boshuis to 60 days in jail, Orr accepted a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence but told him it was at the low end of what was appropriate.
Orr said when someone hits a person in the head hard enough to break their hand it can have “very grave” consequences.
“It’s certainly not a trifling matter,” she said.
