St. Albert Provincial Court took a social services approach to sentencing Monday for a man diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Peter James Learn has a lengthy criminal record which Judge Ken Tjosvold said would typically warrant time behind bars, however Learn will instead spend the next three years on probation.
“This is a person that jail won’t have any impact on, fines won’t have any impact on,” said Crown prosecutor Douglas Taylor, adding probation seems to be the most effective means of punishment for him.
Defence lawyer Rory Ziv agreed, adding his client has little recollection of the crimes he committed, most of which were fuelled by alcohol consumption.
“We’re dealing with a person in a grey area in terms of how we deal with them in the legal system,” Ziv said, adding Learn has one of the most severe cases of the disorder on the spectrum.
Learn pleaded guilty to making threats to cause death and five counts of failing to comply with release conditions.
RCMP was alerted Sept. 9, 2011 to a pair of men attempting to open vehicle doors in Grandin. Learn was picked up by police a short time later and began threatening the police officer who was transporting him to the detachment.
“You are dead,” he said. “You’re dead, man. You’re done.”
Roughly one week later, three males flagged down RCMP to report an incident of mischief. Learn was seen staggering away from the scene carrying a bottle of rum, although he told an officer he had only consumed a single beer. At the time, Learn was bound by a court order to abstain from alcohol.
“This sentence isn’t meant to be a social services intervention,” Tjosvold said, although he acknowledged a lack of programming available to Learn and said a lengthy term of probation would help mitigate court appearances.
Learn’s sister, who acts as his sole caregiver, was present in court and said she would like to see him on probation “indefinitely” to prevent further offences.
Learn served 40 days in pre-sentence custody.
