CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Charlottetown man who forced himself on a woman, grabbed her breast and kissed her while they were in a parked car was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail on two charges.
James Patrick Doyle, 21, appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to common assault.
Doyle was initially charged with sexual assault but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence.
In June, Douglas also found Doyle guilty of breaching an undertaking on an unrelated matter.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Crown attorney John Diamond told the court Doyle and the victim were casual acquaintances.
The victim and a third person were with Doyle in a vehicle he was driving when they stopped at a convenience store for one of them to use the bathroom.
Diamond said Doyle pulled the vehicle around to the side of the building where he assaulted the victim while they were alone.
The court heard the assault included Doyle grabbing the victim’s breast and kissing her against her will.
In an unrelated matter, Doyle was found guilty in June of breaching an undertaking after an incident during which he had contact with the subject of the undertaking while that person was driving by him.
On Tuesday, Diamond recommended a sentence of 60 days in jail for the assault and 30 days to be served consecutively for breaching the undertaking.
During defence submissions, lawyer Conor Mullin said the assault was of a sexual nature but was on the low end.
The other matter was a coincidence with both parties ending up at the same place at the same time, Mullin said.
He also said Doyle had an emotional outburst directed at the passenger who was in the vehicle with the subject of the undertaking.
Mullin suggested the matters could be dealt with through a conditional sentence instead of jail time.
After hearing the submissions from the Crown and defence, Douglas said he wouldn’t characterize it as a minor assault.
The incident involved unwanted kissing but went much further than that, Douglas said.
He also said he didn’t think it was an appropriate case for a conditional sentence.
Along with the jail time, Doyle will be on probation for one year, which included a condition he not have any contact with the assault victim.
A publication ban prevents the release of any details that could identify the assault victim.
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